Naming Your Network Resources

It won't serve your organization's best interest to create arbitrary names for your computers and servers. Of course, one solution doesn't work in every situation as naming conventions really depend on what works best for your organization. Does it make sense for you to name resources based on staff names, positions within the organization, by location, or using some other method?

We'll lay out some typical naming standards for workstations, networks, and servers, and describe the situations that work best for those conventions.

Workstations

By staff name

When it comes to workstations, the key to a successful naming convention is to make it as easy as possible to tell where a computer is and who is using it. Trying to track down a computer called "User12" can be challenging because it doesn't provide any identifying information.

Generally, it's easiest to use staff names. Most people are assigned computers for extended periods of time, and those computers typically remain with that person when he or she moves desks or to another part of the office.

By staff position

If there is significant turnover in your organization, it's computers are likely passed from person to person in the same position. So a naming convention based on job title or position works well in this scenario.

By physical location

If people move from machine to machine on a regular basis, then a geographic naming system, such as "Front Desk" and "Cubicle 3" is a better option than the previous two conventions.

No matter which naming system you follow, it's important to stay consistent and to remember to change network names when people, positions, or computers move.

Servers and Network Services

The key to a useful naming convention for networks or network services -- such as a printer -- is that users are able to clearly identify them. There are three common conventions: functional, geographic, or idiosyncratic.

Functional, such as "mail_server" or "FileServer" are fairly effective, as long as there are only a few servers. If more than one server or particular service type exists, geographic names work better. Geographic names, such as "SF-file server" or "3rd-floor-printer" work well.

The last option is to use a more idiosyncratic name, such as "minerva" or "bubba" which won't have a functional or geographic context, but may have meaning to the organization. This may, however, be confusing to people who are new employees or volunteers.

Naming Style

Finally, avoid using spaces when possible as they can interfere when you're directly addressing services in file and Web browsers, as well as in command-line interfaces. Instead, consider using an underscore (_) or an initial caps style (FileServer).