Naming convention for VMs?
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Does anyone have a good naming convention for VMs?
I'm looking for something that will keep working even if you have several hundred VMs.
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I name based on task. And then drop 01, 02, etc at the end.
dc01, dc02, sql01, iis01, pbx01, pbx02.
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We have around 600 VM's. I try to name them something that is descriptive so I know what it is on a glance.
PSL-BUS-BB01 - Pete S. LLC - Business Office - Blackbaud01
I try to keep it to three characters for each thing. DC01 is also the naming convention for Citrix Delivery controllers, so I have BN-CXN-DC01, etc.
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We try to name based on function as well.
XA7MC01
XenApp 7, serving the Matrix Care icon, first of many servers
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We tend to mimic the convention that @JaredBusch uses.
Of course some people forget the convention and then get all pissy about it.
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We do our by service then function. Examples.
AZDC01 = Azure Cloud DC
AWSSQL01 = Amazon sql box
For the few we run in-house/on prem we use location followed by function. We also have a few lab systems for testing we start those with either L or LAB -
@Pete-S said in Naming convention for VMs?:
Does anyone have a good naming convention for VMs?
Coming from environments with tens of thousands of servers....
We use something like this...
datacenter - operating system - function:counter
So for example..... Our Los Angeles datacenter, running Linux, for Zimbra is...
lax-lnx-zimbra
There is never going to be a second one, so no counter. If it was a web server we would use like this...
lax-lnx-lamp01
lax-lnx-lamp02 -
When we have dedicated VDI, we do it like this...
lax-lnx-vdi-scott
Long, but not something you need to type in often.
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@scottalanmiller said in Naming convention for VMs?:
lax-lnx-vdi-scott
Hostname longer than 15 characters? What kind of madness is this?
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@EddieJennings said in Naming convention for VMs?:
@scottalanmiller said in Naming convention for VMs?:
lax-lnx-vdi-scott
Hostname longer than 15 characters? What kind of madness is this?
Luckily we phased out Windows NT 4 so don't have those limits.
Hostnames were always over 15 characters, that's NetBEUI names that need to be shorter.
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I use the following:
host or function/task | prd or lab | location | client domain.comeg, dc-01.prd.la2.bob.com
dc-01 = domain controller
prd = production
la2 = LA2 co-lo
bob = client's name -
@scottalanmiller said in Naming convention for VMs?:
@EddieJennings said in Naming convention for VMs?:
@scottalanmiller said in Naming convention for VMs?:
lax-lnx-vdi-scott
Hostname longer than 15 characters? What kind of madness is this?
Luckily we phased out Windows NT 4 so don't have those limits.
Hostnames were always over 15 characters, that's NetBEUI names that need to be shorter.
Perhaps my quip would've been better if I said computername.
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Another thing I wanted to mention too is the need for an index of naming conventions if you're going to be using this with a large amount of different products in many different departments. It helps.
CX = Citrix
BB = Blackbaud
SL = SecurelinkFN = Finance Department
IT = Information Technology Department
AD = AdministrationI have an index created in our internal wiki where users can just search for the department name. It makes it easier for new hires as well as people who don't touch what they are looking for frequently.
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The State has a convention of
Department
Location
Desktop/laptop
Serial numberDOELEXD123xc59
Dept of Energy
Lexington
Desktop
Service tag -
@scottalanmiller said in Naming convention for VMs?:
Luckily we phased out Windows NT 4 so don't have those limits.
I wouldn't be surprised if someone in a school district somewhere is still running it.
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@IRJ said in Naming convention for VMs?:
@scottalanmiller said in Naming convention for VMs?:
Luckily we phased out Windows NT 4 so don't have those limits.
I wouldn't be surprised if someone in a school district somewhere is still running it.
Well yeah, loads of companies are. Just not us
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Wow - those are all boring.. I name my servers after warships.
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@Dashrender said in Naming convention for VMs?:
Wow - those are all boring.. I name my servers after warships.
HMS Pinafore
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where it is -> what it does
citynamefunction
factorynamefunction
sitenamefunction
whatever works best for your collection of servers
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@Dashrender said in Naming convention for VMs?:
Wow - those are all boring.. I name my servers after warships.
I onced named everything on a network after characters from the 5th Element.
Well except the badge machine. That was named MultiPass.. Technically not a character.
