Microsoft Azure Architect Technologies (AZ-300) Practice Exam

What is a mechanism used to store frequently accessed data for faster retrieval?

1. Implement scale units

2. Caching

3. Performance monitoring

4. Data partitioning

The correct answer is: Caching

Caching is a mechanism specifically designed to store frequently accessed data in a way that allows for quicker retrieval compared to fetching data from the original source, such as a database or a file system. The primary purpose of caching is to improve application performance and reduce latency by keeping commonly requested data in memory or another fast-access storage solution. When data is cached, it reduces the need for repetitive data retrieval operations which can be time-consuming, especially when dealing with large datasets or complex queries. Caching can be implemented at various levels including: - **In-memory caching**: Using solutions like Azure Cache for Redis, data can be kept in RAM which allows for sub-millisecond response times. - **Distributed caching**: This helps to scale out the cache across multiple nodes, offering better availability and reliability. The other listed mechanisms do not serve the same purpose. Implementing scale units relates to scaling resources to handle increased load, performance monitoring involves observing and analyzing the system's performance for optimization, and data partitioning is about dividing datasets for better management and performance but does not specifically address access speed for frequently requested data. Thus, caching stands out as the most effective solution for storing frequently accessed data for faster retrieval.