In one embodiment, packets are forwarded in a network based on multiple compact forwarding identifiers represented in a single 128-bit Internet Protocol Version 6 (IPv6) address, such as, but not limited to being in the destination address field of the IPv6 header (e.g., possibly in an extended IPv6 header). One embodiment follows the forwarding order of these multiple compact forwarding identifiers by respectively placing them in the single IPv6 address from high-order to lower-order bit positions. In one embodiment, a compact forwarding identifier prefix is part of the address represented by each compact forwarding identifier, typically with the compact forwarding identifier prefix stored in the highest-order bit positions. One embodiment uses a longest prefix matching operation to match the compact forwarding identifier to be used in determining how to next process the packet.