Techniques to load balance traffic in a communication network include a network switch or device having an interface to receive a data unit or packet. The network device includes a hash value generator configured to generate a symmetric key from an initial key that is based on the packet, and configured to generate a hash value based on the symmetric key and the packet. The hash value may be optionally modified to load balance egress traffic of the network device. The network device selects an egress link or port, such as by determining an index into an egress table based on the (modified) hash value. The techniques described herein allow packets or data units of a particular flow to travel in both directions along a same path through the communication network.