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Device Naming Convention

DTC's standardized naming convention for all managed devices... network equipment, servers, workstations, peripherals, and infrastructure. One naming scheme across all device types.

Format

{location}-{devicelocation}-{role}{sequence}

Components

ComponentDescriptionExamples
{location}Site/location abbreviationSS (Silver Spring), HG (Hagerstown), MO (Main Office)
{devicelocation}Physical location within the siteMDF, IDF1, IDF2, SVR, LOBBY, OPS, FRONT, BACK, LAB
{role}Device role abbreviationSee role table below
{sequence}4-digit identifier (0001-FFFF or asset tag)0001, 0002, or asset tag number

Role Abbreviations

RoleAbbreviationCategory
SwitchSWNetwork
Access PointAPNetwork
FirewallFWNetwork
HypervisorHVServer
Domain ControllerDCServer
File ServerFSServer
NASNASStorage
BDR ApplianceBDRBackup
NVRNVRSurveillance
WorkstationWSEndpoint
PrinterPRPeripheral
PhonePHVoice

Additional roles can be added as needed. Keep abbreviations to 2-3 characters.

Examples

Device NameMeaning
SS-MDF-SW0001Silver Spring, MDF closet, Switch #1
SS-IDF1-SW0001Silver Spring, IDF1 closet, Switch #1
SS-MDF-AP0001Silver Spring, MDF area, Access Point #1
HG-SVR-HV0001Hagerstown, Server room, Hypervisor #1
SS-SVR-NAS0001Silver Spring, Server room, NAS #1
SS-SVR-BDR0001Silver Spring, Server room, BDR #1
SS-SVR-DC0001Silver Spring, Server room, Domain Controller #1
SS-MDF-FW0001Silver Spring, MDF closet, Firewall #1
SS-SVR-NVR0001Silver Spring, Server room, NVR #1
SS-FRONT-WS0001Silver Spring, Front desk, Workstation #1
SS-LAB-WS0001Silver Spring, Lab, Workstation #1
SS-FRONT-PR0001Silver Spring, Front desk, Printer #1

Rules

  • All lowercase or all uppercase... pick one per site and be consistent
  • Sequence number is 4 digits: either sequential (0001, 0002...) or the asset tag number from inventory
  • The naming applies to the device hostname, DNS entry, and inventory record
  • When a device is replaced, the new device gets a new sequence number... don't reuse old numbers
  • Location abbreviations should be short (2-3 characters) and consistent across all sites
  • Device location should describe the physical area, not the network/VLAN

Where This Name Gets Used

  • Device hostname (set on the device itself)
  • DNS entry (A record in Windows DNS Server or on the firewall, depending on environment)
  • Inventory record (NinjaOne, HaloPSA asset)
  • Switch port description (label the port with the device name)
  • Physical cable label (if applicable)

Azure Resources

DTC's Azure infrastructure follows the same {location}-{devicelocation}-{role}{sequence} convention as on-prem, with a few rules that account for Azure-specific constraints.

Field Mapping

ComponentAzure MeaningExamples
{location}Azure region (long form)eastus, centralus, westus2
{devicelocation}Environment or purposeprod, lab, mgmt (shared management infra such as state backends or future shared key vaults)
{role}Azure resource-type abbreviationSee role table below
{sequence}4-digit identifier0001, 0002, ...

Azure Role Abbreviations

Azure ResourceAbbreviation
Resource Group (AKS)rgaks
Resource Group (Network)rgnet
Resource Group (TFState)rgtfs
AKS Clusteraks
Virtual Networkvnet
Subnet (AKS nodes)snetaks
Subnet (generic)snet
Storage Accountst
Key Vaultkv
Container Registryacr
Log Analytics Workspacela
Public IPpip
Network Security Groupnsg
Load Balancerlb
Application Gatewayagw
Private Endpointpe

Add new abbreviations here as additional Azure resource types come into use.

Azure Examples

Resource NameMeaning
eastus2-prod-aks0001East US 2, prod env, AKS cluster #1 (the live prod cluster)
eastus2-prod-rgaks0001East US 2, prod env, resource group holding the AKS cluster
eastus2-prod-rgnet0001East US 2, prod env, network resource group
eastus2-prod-vnet0001East US 2, prod env, virtual network
eastus2-prod-snetaks0001East US 2, prod env, subnet for AKS nodes
eastus2-mgmt-rgtfs0001East US 2, mgmt scope, Terraform state RG
eastus2mgmttfs0001East US 2, mgmt, TF state storage account (no hyphens)
eastus2prodacr0001East US 2, prod, Azure Container Registry (no hyphens)
eastus2-prod-kv0001East US 2, prod, Key Vault
eastus-lab-aks0001East US, lab env, AKS cluster #1 (when lab adopts the convention)

Azure Rules

  • Lowercase only for Azure resources... matches Azure tooling, azurerm provider conventions, and storage-account validation rules. On-prem case rule (lowercase OR uppercase per site) doesn't apply to Azure.
  • Role abbreviations may be 2-7 characters for Azure resources where disambiguation needs more letters (e.g. snetaks, rgtfs). The 2-3 character cap still applies to hardware.
  • Storage Accounts and Container Registries drop hyphens. Azure restricts these to 3-24 chars, lowercase alphanumeric only. Collapse the name: eastus2mgmttfs0001, eastus2prodacr0001.
  • Key Vault has a 24-char max including hyphens. Plan accordingly: eastus2-prod-kv0001 is 19 chars and fits.
  • Tags carry the structured metadata that the name can't fully express: environment, region, workload, managed_by, owner. Filter and group by tag in the portal and cost reports, not by name parsing.

Where Azure Names Get Used

  • Resource name in Azure (visible in portal, CLI, az output, terraform/tofu state)
  • Resource group membership (the RG itself is named under this convention)
  • Tags on every resource (structured metadata for filtering and cost allocation)
  • Tofu/Terraform HCL (resource "azurerm_xxx" "this" { name = "eastus2-prod-..." })

DNS names that on-prem endpoints and end users hit are a separate naming plane (e.g. unifi.dtctoday.com mapped to an AKS ingress IP). Service-friendly DNS doesn't follow this convention... that's the contract for the outside world.

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