How can you identify the operating system version installed on a virtual machine?

The correct answer is WMI, which stands for Windows Management Instrumentation. WMI is a powerful tool used in Windows environments to query system information, including details about the operating system version installed on a virtual machine. It provides a standardized way to access and manage system resources, making it possible to retrieve various pieces of information such as the OS name, version number, build, and even configurations related to hardware.

Using WMI, administrators can execute scripts or queries to gather this information programmatically. This capability is particularly useful in environments where multiple virtual machines are managed, as it helps with inventory tracking, compliance checks, and system management tasks.

The other options do not serve this purpose. SMTP (Simple Mail Transfer Protocol) is used for sending emails, not for querying system information. SMS (System Management Server) is an older Microsoft product for managing distributed systems, but it is not directly used to identify operating system versions in a straightforward manner. IMAP (Internet Message Access Protocol) is used for retrieving emails from a mail server and is unrelated to operating system identification.