A multimedia conferencing service uses accessible-forwarding-plane network elements such as OpenFlow® controllers and OpenFlow®-enabled switches. A conferencing server receives a conference subscription request including a network address of a L2/L3 signaling server, and connects to an accessible-forwarding-plane controller to control an accessible-forwarding-plane switch. Flow tables and group tables are managed to classify traffic with minimum table usage and update frequency. Media channels are established between clients through the OpenFlow®-enabled switches, relieving bottlenecks at the conferencing server.