What naming convention do you use?

lastname first initial. of course we have under 200 users so its still easy to find doej (john doe) in the user list. I imagine the more users you have it gets harder to find people by their last names when you are used to hearing about john in accounting, not doe in accounting ;)

Alot of times i hear people refer to (that A&&hole in accounting) lol

Rad

I give the computers (the boxes) a unique name separate from the person using it. Computers, as you know, are very sensitive to such things, and they usually behave better if they have an identity of their own. There's nothing worse than a sulking computer dealing with an identity crisis. So I pacify their emotional needs and give them a name that consists of a combination of the company’s initials and a number, for example, ABC01, ABC02, ABC03, and so on. (Yes, I could just give them a number, but they feel much more a part of the company if it’s preceded by the company initials.) This way I can easily move the computer to a different user, just removing/adding the user. The user defined to use the computer is a combination offirst name and last initial, MaxwellE, for example. For the computers without a dedicated user, I name them according to their purpose in life, and since those are all servers, they are named Server1 (PDC), Server2 (BDC), Server3 (CD-Rom server), Server4 (print server), Server5 (print server), Server6 (VPN server).

I keep a notebook with one sheet for each computer describing the specifications, component serial numbers, and any other pertinent information so I can know at a glance what I have, how it can be upgraded, etc. Some computers have additional sheets for pertinent usage information, notes, and so on.

For example:

---------- ABC04 ----------

PIII – 733 MHz
256 MB PC133 SDRAM (1 ea. Module, 2 slots available)
Motherboard – ASUS CUV4X
15 GB Hard Drive (IBM Deskstar model No.###)
AGP Graphics – ATI Whatever
Monitor – Viewsonic 19” Model PF790, S/N: #########
Etc.
Etc.

I also keep a separate file folder (accordion type) for eachcomputer (ABC05, for example) with all the documentation, manuals, CD’s etc. All of my software and respective licenses are locked up separately. (With 1 copy of each softwar

City description, site number, system type and asset number. EG:

SYD02S2010012

Where SYD is for Sydney, 02 is the site number, S is for server and the asset number.

Hi - I use the following
City: OTT, ARL (Ottawa - Arlington)
Department: DEV, QA, CORP
Usage: File, SQL, EX,
Usage for domain controllers is: NTFS
ID Number for more than one server: 01, 02, 03 etc.

Example: OTTNTFS01, ARLQASQL01, OTTEX01
I am dealing with a network that is global, naming according to city is crucial. Our 2K schema is being setup the same.
Site:
Ottawa.corporate.domainname.com
Ottawa.Development.domainname.com etc...

pretty much sums it up :)

ex: sBFadPS001

Translated: Server, Bonners Ferry, Administration, Print Server #1.

Whereas ex: wsPOCmhWS004

Translated: Work Station, Pocatello, Mental Health, Workstation #4

My home, machines, well that's a different story :) HAL (who doesn't have one of these!), Burn, Bliss (my music hd recorder) and of course, Blue :)

Clients don't count, only servers are worthy of names.
Ok, the clients get their names as the PC names, (small company, low turnover, easy to tell who is who). The servers get a nae like, ABCCTYFS01.
That would be: ABC for company or department name,
CTY for the City the server is in, FS for the function, FS=file server, MS=mail server,whatever, and 01 is the number of the unit.

Are doing wether you are inheriting a existing network or setting up a new one from scratch. If you are going into an existing network it is easier to follow the existing conventions of who ever set the thing up in the first place but if new stations/servers are added I give the computer its own name rather than resort to the prevailing conditions in the company like a persons name. I also do this when computers are replaced as it is far easier to lock out a person than totally rework the security of a computer dedicated to a person and in really big companies if computers are named after their users it can happen that you have a few people with the same name/initial or whatever system is currently being used. However saying this you have to be prepared for a long term conmintment as if you leave the company the new person will find it almost imposible to understand the network easily.

With a new network set up from scratch that is easy name the computers but department area fuction and or server type it is far easier in this manner as it is a logical step and can have anything from two computers to an unlimited number without ever having a computers name duplicated over the entire system, when this happens you really do get a problem as things don't work or if they do data ends up in the wrong place and the wrong person has access to data that they shouldn't have access to while the person with the clearence is loocked out of their data. You then have to run around and fix up the mess.