Microsoft Azure Architect Design (AZ-301) Practice Exam

Improving application performance for global users can effectively be achieved by leveraging Azure CDN (Content Delivery Network). A CDN is designed to reduce latency and improve load times by caching content at geographically distributed edge locations, which are closer to end users. When a global user requests content, the CDN delivers it from the nearest edge server rather than from the origin server, which can be located far away. This process minimizes the distance the data has to travel, leading to faster delivery and enhanced user experience, especially for users spread across various regions.

The other options do not provide the same level of performance improvement for a global audience. While Azure VPN can secure connections between remote users and Azure, it does not optimize content delivery speed. Azure Virtual Machines can be part of an architecture, but using them exclusively does not inherently improve performance for global users as they would still rely on the origin server's location. Restricting access to local users only would negatively impact the overall user base and limit performance benefits for users outside of the local area.