Described is a switch architecture that combines address management with simplified hardware to implement fast route lookup within network switches such as Ethernet switches. A managed address includes a cluster ID which is shared by all endpoints in a cluster, and a member ID which is unique for each node in the cluster. The switch extracts the cluster ID from a target address for a packet and compares it against at least one cluster ID stored in a cluster identification memory. Responsive to a match, the switch generates a port identification for the packet using a fast lookup table. Responsive to no match, the target address is considered an unmanaged address. In one implementation, a slow lookup table can be used to generate a port identification for the unmanaged address.