Abstract: Stored in the leaf nodes of a data structure that can be used for identifying the longest prefix matching an address are corresponding values from multiple forwarding information bases. A single common address lookup data structure (e.g., a tree, trie, etc.) can be used, and a leaf node can contain information from multiple forwarding information bases. If lookup operations are performed for a single address in multiple forwarding information bases, the single common address lookup data structure may only need to be traversed once. For example, the forwarding information for another forwarding information base may be stored in the same leaf, further down in the data structure requiring traversal from the current position, or above requiring traversal from the root of the lookup data structure. Information can be stored in the leaf node to indicate which traversal option is appropriate for a particular forwarding information base.