Minimizing Hardware Investment for Testing Various OSs and Applications

B.

The best solution for the customer in the software development industry, who wants to test a variety of operating systems running various applications while minimizing the investment in hardware, would be to purchase a high-end system and configure virtual machines (VMs) for each testing environment (option B).

Option A, which involves purchasing low-cost devices and installing the required OSs and applications on each one, would require a significant investment in hardware, as the customer would need to purchase a separate machine for each testing environment. This would be costly and difficult to manage, as the customer would need to maintain and update each machine separately.

Option C, which involves purchasing one computer and creating images for each computer configuration and OS, is also not the best solution, as the process of re-imaging the machine for each testing environment would be time-consuming and inefficient.

Option D, which involves purchasing a number of computers and installing a VM on each one, is a feasible solution, but it would still require a significant investment in hardware. Additionally, it would be difficult to manage and maintain each VM separately.

Therefore, option B, which involves purchasing a high-end system meeting the hardware requirements for all of the individual OSs and applications and configuring a VM for each testing environment, is the best solution. This option minimizes the investment in hardware and provides a centralized and easily manageable testing environment, as all of the VMs can be maintained and updated from a single system. Additionally, this option allows for easy backup and restoration of the testing environments.