Lookup techniques are described, which can achieve improvements in energy efficiency, speed, and cost, of IP address lookup, for example, in devices and systems employing ternary content addressable memory (TCAM). The disclosed subject matter describes dividing a route table into several sub-tries with disjoint range boundaries. In addition, the disclosed subject matter describes storing sub-tries of a route table between a TCAM and a faster and less costly memory. The disclosed details enable various refinements and modifications according to system design and tradeoff considerations.