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IGMP stands for Internet Group Management Protocol, which is a communications protocol used primarily for managing IP multicast groups in a network. It plays a crucial role in Internet Protocol networks by enabling routers to discover which hosts are part of a multicast group. This management allows efficient routing of multicast packets to those hosts that have expressed interest in receiving multicast data, rather than broadcasting the data to all hosts on a network segment.

The protocol operates at the network layer of the Internet Protocol Suite, helping manage network traffic and optimizing bandwidth usage by ensuring that only interested parties receive certain data transmissions, such as live video streams or online gaming packets. This aligns with the purpose of IGMP, which is essential in applications that utilize multicast for data distribution.

The other options provided do not accurately reflect the established terminology or function associated with IGMP. They either describe protocols or concepts that do not exist or mischaracterize IGMP's specific focus on multicast group management.