What is an Azure Function primarily used for in regards to IoT Hub alerts?

An Azure Function is primarily used for running code in response to specific events or triggers, including alerts from Azure IoT Hub. Azure Functions are serverless computing resources that allow developers to execute code based on the occurrence of an event. In the context of IoT Hub alerts, when certain conditions are met, such as device status changes or specific telemetry data thresholds being crossed, an alert can trigger an Azure Function to run. This enables automation of responses, such as sending notifications, initiating workflows, or connecting to other Azure services without the need to manage servers or infrastructure.

In contrast, using Azure Functions for storing data would typically involve additional services (like Azure Storage or databases), but storing data is not the primary function of Azure Functions. Executing machine learning algorithms can be part of a broader Azure solution, but Azure Functions themselves are not solely dedicated to this purpose. Similarly, creating virtual machines falls outside the scope of Azure Functions, as they are designed for smaller, event-driven tasks rather than infrastructure provisioning.