What does Azure Front Door use to enhance application performance globally?

Azure Front Door enhances application performance globally primarily through distributed routing and load balancing. This service optimizes the delivery of web applications by intelligently routing user requests across the global network of Azure data centers. By employing various routing methods, such as latency-based routing, Azure Front Door can direct users to the nearest and most responsive backend, which minimizes latency and improves load times.

Moreover, the platform uses a technique called global load balancing, which distributes incoming traffic among multiple instances of the application, ensuring that no single instance becomes a bottleneck. This also contributes to higher availability and fault tolerance since the system can seamlessly redirect traffic to healthy instances if one or more become unavailable.

While local caching mechanisms, static content delivery networks, and performance optimization algorithms play roles in enhancing performance, the distinctive feature of Azure Front Door lies in its ability to leverage global infrastructure for distributed routing and load balancing, making it particularly effective for applications with a worldwide user base.