Metadata and links updated, minor rewording and Acrolinx fixes to improve score

Author: DENKEN02MSFT

articles/iot-hub/iot-hub-devguide-direct-methods.md

@@ -6,7 +6,7 @@ author: SoniaLopezBravo
 ms.author: sonialopez
 ms.service: azure-iot-hub
 ms.topic: concept-article
-ms.date: 05/03/2024
+ms.date: 03/20/2025
 ms.custom: [amqp, mqtt,'Role: Cloud Development', 'Role: IoT Device']
 ---
 
@@ -18,27 +18,27 @@ IoT Hub *direct methods* enable you to remotely invoke calls on devices from the
 
 Each device method targets a single device. If you want to invoke direct methods on multiple devices, or schedule methods for disconnected devices, see [Schedule jobs on multiple devices](iot-hub-devguide-jobs.md).
 
-Anyone with **service connect** permissions on IoT Hub may invoke a method on a device.
+Anyone with **service connect** permissions on IoT Hub can invoke a method on a device.
 
-Refer to the [Cloud-to-device communication guidance](iot-hub-devguide-c2d-guidance.md) if in doubt between using desired properties, direct methods, or cloud-to-device messages.
+Refer to the [Cloud-to-device communications guidance](iot-hub-devguide-c2d-guidance.md) if in doubt between using desired properties, direct methods, or cloud-to-device messages.
 
 ## Method lifecycle
 
-Direct methods are implemented on the device and may require zero or more inputs in the method payload to correctly instantiate. You invoke a direct method through a service-facing URI (`{iot hub}/twins/{device id}/methods/`). A device receives direct methods through a device-specific MQTT topic (`$iothub/methods/POST/{method name}/`) or through AMQP links (the `IoThub-methodname` and `IoThub-status` application properties).
+Direct methods are implemented on the device and might require zero or more inputs in the method payload to correctly instantiate. You invoke a direct method through a service-facing URI (`{iot hub}/twins/{device id}/methods/`). A device receives direct methods through a device-specific MQTT topic (`$iothub/methods/POST/{method name}/`) or through AMQP links (the `IoThub-methodname` and `IoThub-status` application properties).
 
 > [!NOTE]
 > When you invoke a direct method on a device, property names and values can only contain US-ASCII printable alphanumeric, except any in the following set: `$ ( ) < > @ , ; : \ " / [ ] ? = { } SP HT`
 >
 
-Direct methods are synchronous and either succeed or fail after the timeout period (default 30 seconds; settable between 5 and 300 seconds). Direct methods are useful in interactive scenarios where you want a device to act if and only if the device is online and receiving commands. For example, turning on a light from a phone. In these scenarios, you want to see an immediate success or failure so the cloud service can act on the result as soon as possible. The device may return some message body as a result of the method, but it isn't required. There is no guarantee on ordering or any concurrency semantics on method calls.
+Direct methods are synchronous and either succeed or fail after the time-out period (default 30 seconds; settable between 5 and 300 seconds). Direct methods are useful in interactive scenarios where you want a device to act if and only if the device is online and receiving commands. For example, turning on a light from a phone. In these scenarios, you want to see an immediate success or failure so the cloud service can act on the result as soon as possible. The device might return some message body as a result of the method, but it isn't required. There's no guarantee on ordering or any concurrency semantics on method calls.
 
 Direct methods are HTTPS-only from the cloud side and MQTT, AMQP, MQTT over WebSockets, or AMQP over WebSockets from the device side.
 
 The payload for method requests and responses is a JSON document up to 128 KB.
 
 ## Invoke a direct method from a back-end app
 
-To invoke a direct method from a back-end app use the [Invoke device method](/rest/api/iothub/service/devices/invoke-method) REST API or its equivalent in one of the [IoT Hub service SDKs](iot-hub-devguide-sdks.md#azure-iot-hub-service-sdks).
+To invoke a direct method from a back-end app, use the [Devices - Invoke Method](/rest/api/iothub/service/devices/invoke-method) REST API or its equivalent in one of the [IoT Hub service SDKs](iot-hub-devguide-sdks.md#azure-iot-hub-service-sdks).
 
 ### Method invocation
 
@@ -68,7 +68,7 @@ Direct method invocations on a device are HTTPS calls that are made up of the fo
     }
     ```
 
-The value provided as `responseTimeoutInSeconds` in the request is the amount of time that IoT Hub service must await for completion of a direct method execution on a device. Set this timeout to be at least as long as the expected execution time of a direct method by a device. If timeout is not provided, the default value of 30 seconds is used. The minimum and maximum values for `responseTimeoutInSeconds` are 5 and 300 seconds, respectively.
+The value provided as `responseTimeoutInSeconds` in the request is the amount of time that IoT Hub service must await for completion of a direct method execution on a device. Set this time-out to be at least as long as the expected execution time of a direct method by a device. If a time-out value isn't provided, the default value of 30 seconds is used. The minimum and maximum values for `responseTimeoutInSeconds` are 5 and 300 seconds, respectively.
 
 The value provided as `connectTimeoutInSeconds` in the request is the amount of time upon invocation of a direct method that IoT Hub service must await for a disconnected device to come online. The default value is 0, meaning that devices must already be online upon invocation of a direct method. The maximum value for `connectTimeoutInSeconds` is 300 seconds.
 
@@ -82,7 +82,7 @@ To begin, use the [Microsoft Azure IoT extension for Azure CLI](https://github.c
 az iot hub generate-sas-token -n <iothubName> --du <duration>
 ```
 
-Next, replace the Authorization header with your newly generated SharedAccessSignature, then modify the `iothubName`, `deviceId`, `methodName` and `payload` parameters to match your implementation in the example `curl` command below.
+Next, replace the Authorization header with your newly generated SharedAccessSignature, then modify the `iothubName`, `deviceId`, `methodName`, and `payload` parameters to match your implementation in the following example `curl` command.
 
 ```bash
 curl -X POST \
@@ -102,7 +102,7 @@ curl -X POST \
 Execute the modified command to invoke the specified direct method. Successful requests return an HTTP 200 status code.
 
 > [!NOTE]
-> The example above demonstrates invoking a direct method on a device. If you want to invoke a direct method in an IoT Edge Module, modify the url request to include `/modules/<moduleName>` as shown below:
+> The previous example demonstrates invoking a direct method on a device. If you want to invoke a direct method in an IoT Edge module, modify the URL request to include `/modules/<moduleName>` as shown in the following example:
 >
 > ```bash
 > https://<iothubName>.azure-devices.net/twins/<deviceId>/modules/<moduleName>/methods?api-version=2021-04-12
@@ -114,8 +114,8 @@ The back-end app receives a response that is made up of the following items:
 
 * *HTTP status code*:
   * 200 indicates successful execution of direct method;
-  * 404 indicates that either device ID is invalid, or that the device was not online upon invocation of a direct method and for `connectTimeoutInSeconds` thereafter (use accompanied error message to understand the root cause);
-  * 504 indicates gateway timeout caused by device not responding to a direct method call within `responseTimeoutInSeconds`.
+  * 404 indicates that either device ID is invalid, or that the device wasn't online upon invocation of a direct method and for `connectTimeoutInSeconds` thereafter (use accompanied error message to understand the root cause);
+  * 504 indicates gateway time-out caused by device not responding to a direct method call within `responseTimeoutInSeconds`.
 
 * *Headers* that contain the request ID, content type, and content encoding.
 
@@ -132,7 +132,7 @@ The back-end app receives a response that is made up of the following items:
 
 ### Method invocation for IoT Edge modules
 
-Invoking direct methods on a module is supported by the [Invoke module method](/rest/api/iothub/service/modules/invoke-method) REST API or its equivalent in one of the IoT Hub service SDKs.
+To invoke a direct method on a module, use the [Modules - Invoke Method](/rest/api/iothub/service/modules/invoke-method) REST API or its equivalent in one of the [IoT Hub service SDKs](iot-hub-devguide-sdks.md#azure-iot-hub-service-sdks).
 
 The `moduleId` is passed along with the `deviceId` in the request URI when using the REST API or as a parameter when using a service SDK. For example, `https://<iothubName>.azure-devices.net/twins/<deviceId>/modules/<moduleName>/methods?api-version=2021-04-12`. The request body and response is similar to that of direct methods invoked on the device.
 
@@ -142,11 +142,11 @@ On an IoT device, direct methods can be received over MQTT, AMQP, or either of t
 
 ### MQTT
 
-The following section is for the MQTT protocol. To learn more about using the MQTT protocol directly with IoT Hub, see [MQTT protocol support](../iot/iot-mqtt-connect-to-iot-hub.md).
+The following section is for the MQTT protocol. To learn more about using the MQTT protocol directly with IoT Hub, see [Communicate with an IoT hub using the MQTT protocol](../iot/iot-mqtt-connect-to-iot-hub.md).
 
 #### Method invocation
 
-Devices receive direct method requests on the MQTT topic: `$iothub/methods/POST/{method name}/?$rid={request id}`. However, the `request id` is generated by IoT Hub and cannot be known ahead of time, so subscribe to `$iothub/methods/POST/#` and then filter the delivered messages based on method names supported by your device. (You'll use the `request id` to respond.)
+Devices receive direct method requests on the MQTT topic: `$iothub/methods/POST/{method name}/?$rid={request id}`. However, the `request id` can't be known ahead of time because IoT Hub generates it, so subscribe to `$iothub/methods/POST/#` and then filter the delivered messages based on method names supported by your device. (You use the generated `request id` to respond.)
 
 The body that the device receives is in the following format:
 
@@ -167,11 +167,11 @@ The device sends responses to `$iothub/methods/res/{status}/?$rid={request id}`,
 
 * The `$rid` property is the request ID from the method invocation received from IoT Hub. The request ID is a hexadecimal formatted value.
 
-The body is set by the device and can be any status.
+The device sets the body and can be any status.
 
 ### AMQP
 
-The following section is for the AMQP protocol. To learn more about using the AMQP protocol directly with IoT Hub, see [AMQP protocol support](iot-hub-amqp-support.md).
+The following section is for the AMQP protocol. To learn more about using the AMQP protocol directly with IoT Hub, see [Communicate with your IoT hub by using the AMQP Protocol](iot-hub-amqp-support.md).
 
 #### Method invocation
 
@@ -199,9 +199,9 @@ The method's response is returned on the sending link and is structured as follo
 
 ## Next steps
 
-Now you have learned how to use direct methods, you may be interested in the following IoT Hub developer guide article:
+Now that you know how to use direct methods, you might be interested in the following IoT Hub developer guide articles:
 
 * [Schedule jobs on multiple devices](iot-hub-devguide-jobs.md)
-* [Azure IoT device and service SDKs](iot-hub-devguide-sdks.md) lists the various language SDKs you can use when you develop both device and service apps that interact with IoT Hub.
-* [IoT Hub query language for device twins, jobs, and message routing](iot-hub-devguide-query-language.md) describes the IoT Hub query language you can use to retrieve information from IoT Hub about your device twins and jobs.
+* [Azure IoT Hub SDKs](iot-hub-devguide-sdks.md) lists the various language SDKs you can use when you develop both device and service apps that interact with IoT Hub.
+* [IoT Hub query language for device and module twins, jobs, and message routing](iot-hub-devguide-query-language.md) describes the IoT Hub query language you can use to retrieve information from IoT Hub about your device twins and jobs.
 

includes/iot-hub-basic-whole.md

@@ -5,9 +5,9 @@
  author: SoniaLopezBravo
  ms.service: azure-iot-hub
  ms.topic: include
- ms.date: 04/01/2018
+ ms.date: 03/20/2025
  ms.author: sonialopez
  ms.custom: include file
 ---
 >[!NOTE]
->The features described in this article are available only in the standard tier of IoT Hub. For more information about the basic and standard/free IoT Hub tiers, see [Choose the right IoT Hub tier for your solution](../articles/iot-hub/iot-hub-scaling.md).
+>The features described in this article are available only in the standard tier of IoT Hub. For more information about the basic and standard/free IoT Hub tiers, see [Choose the right IoT Hub tier and size for your solution](../articles/iot-hub/iot-hub-scaling.md).