Overview
UAA has adopted the following naming conventions for university owned devices connected to UAA's network in order to a) uniquely identify devices, and b) reduce the possibility of device naming conflicts. This naming format is recommended in order to include the most information possible using the 15 character maximum imposed by Microsoft Active Directory.
In this article:
General Recommendations
Elements of the device name should be separated whenever possible by a dash ( - ). In cases where a worthwhile name would exceed 15 characters it is permissible to remove as few dashes as necessary to achieve a 15-character name. The dashes should be removed starting from the right side of the name working left. A few examples are:
- Incorrect: anc-isb100l1a-01 (16 characters)
- Correct: anc-isb100l1a01 (15 characters)
- Incorrect: anc-eh400lg01-01m (18 characters)
- Correct: anc-eh400-01m (14 characters)
Multi-boot workstations should use the same workstation name for all operating systems appended by one of the following:
- m - for Mac OS systems
- w - for Windows systems
- u - for Linux/Unix systems
A few general examples are:
- anc-adm102-scw
- anc-adm102-scm
- anc-adm144-01m
- anc-adm144-01w
Important Note: A multi-boot workstation cannot use the same workstation name for both operating systems. This will cause a conflict in Active Directory. They must use different names.
Location Codes
In general devices should begin with the location code where it is primarily located at. UA has the following location codes:
- anc - Anchorage campus, including metropolitan locations such as AvTech, ENRI, Eagle River, University Center, Joint Base Elmendorf Richardson.
- aws - Amazon cloud services
- az - Azure cloud services
- bet - Bethel
- bbc - Dillingham
- fbk - Fairbanks campus, including locations such as Ft. Wainwright, Eielson AFB
- jun - Juneau
- kbc - Kachemak Bay campus
- koc - Kodiak campus
- kot - Kotzebue
- krc - Kenai River campus, including locations in Kenai, Soldotna, and Seward
- ktn - Ketchikan
- msc - Matanuska-Susitna College
- nom - Nome
- pws - Prince William Sound College, including locations such as Valdez, Cooper Basin Campus, Cordova Campus
- sit - Sitka
Employee Workstations
The naming conventions for Employee workstations is:
Locationcode-Last9digitserialnumber(-OSFlag)
Where locationcode is the campus abbreviation, followed by up to the last nine digits of the workstations serial number, and optionally the OSFlag for multi-boot workstations to provide a unique name for each operating system. A few examples are:
- anc-123456789-w
- anc-123456789-m
- anc-a93b912nb-w
- anc-a93b912nb-m
- msc-cxj289lv9
- msc-jf93kg9
- koc-cv84nz0
Note: Because device serial numbers can include the characters 'm' or 'w' as the last character in their serial number string we separate out the OSFlag in this instance by including a dash (-) character before hand.
Smart Classroom Workstations
The naming convention for Smart Classrooms is:
Locationcode-BldgRoom-sc(OSFlag)
Where locationcode is the campus abbreviation, bldgroom represents the short building identifier as listed below, and the room number of the classroom, followed by sc which stands for Smart Classroom, and optionally the OSFlag for multi-boot workstations to provide a unique name for each operating system. A few examples are:
- anc-ssb118-sc
- anc-adm142-sc
- anc-psb166-sc
- anc-adm102-scm
- anc-adm102-scw
Note: Locations that have more than just a single Instructor’s computer should follow the conventions for a Computer Lab/Classroom provided below.
Conference Room Workstations
The naming convention for Conference Rooms is:
Locationcode-BldgRoom(-OSFlag)
Where locationcode is the campus abbreviation, bldgroom represents the short building identifier as listed below, and the room number of the location, and optionally the OSFlag for multi-boot workstations to provide a unique name for each operating system. A few examples are:
- anc-admin201
- anc-adm204
- anc-ssb101-m
- anc-ssb101-w
Note: Conference rooms that have more than just a single workstation should follow the conventions for a Computer Lab/Classroom provided below.
Computer Labs/Classrooms
The naming convention for computer classrooms/labs is:
Locationcode-BldgRoom-WorkstationID(OSFlag)
Where locationcode is the campus abbreviation, and bldgroom represents the short building identifier as listed below, the room number of the classroom, the WorkstationID is a unique identifier for each specific workstation, and optionally the OSFlag for multi-boot workstations to provide a unique name for each operating system. A few examples are:
- anc-smh105-01
- anc-smh105-02
- anc-smh110-01
- anc-ssb172-01
- anc-lib210-01
- anc-lib210-20m
- anc-lib210-20w
Note 1: It is encouraged that the workstationID be entered as a two digit number with a leading zero (0) for numbers less than ten (10).
Note 2: Instructor/Presentation/Consultant stations are typically encouraged to adapt a workstation ID of 00 (e.g. anc-smh105-00, anc-lib210-00, etc.) in order to distinctly identify that device from the rest of the lab. In the cases where two, or more podium workstations have been deployed the workstations should all have the standard workstation ID of 00 with a letter appended starting with 'a' and incrementing as needed (e.g. anc-smh105-00a, anc-smh105-00b, anc-smh105-00c, etc).
Laptop/Tablet Carts
The naming convention for laptop cards is:
Locationcode-DeptcodeCrtZ-WorkstationId(OSFlag)
Where locationcode is the campus abbreviation, deptcode represents a 3-4 character abbreviation of the department that the cart belongs to, crt representing that it is a laptop/tablet cart, Z representing an alphabetical (e.g. a-z) distinguisher for departments with multiple carts, the WorkstationID is a unique identifier for each specific device, and optionally the OSFlag for multi-boot workstations to provide a unique name for each operating system. A few examples are:
- anc-soncrta-01
- anc-soncrta-02
- anc-soncrtb-03
- anc-cerccrta-01
- anc-cerccrtb-04
Note 1: It is encouraged that the Workstation ID be entered as a two digit number with a leading zero (0) for numbers less than ten (10).
Note 2: If there is a dedicated instructor/presentation device it is encouraged to adopt a workstation ID of 00 (e.g. anc-soncrta-00) in order to distinctly identify that device from the rest of the cart.
Note 3: For departments with that currently only have a single cart it should be represented with the alphabetical distinguisher "A" (e.g. anc-cdtcrta-01). This way if more carts are purchased in the future the existing one does not need to be renamed.
Digital Signs
The naming convention for digital signs
Locationcode-BldgRoom-SignTypeAbbreviation(SignId)
Where locationcode is the campus abbreviation, and bldgroom represents the short building identifier as listed below, the room number of the classroom, SignTypeAbbreviation is either ds (i.e. Digital Sign) or rs (i.e. Room Sign), and optionally the SignId is a unique identifier for each specific device to provide a unique name in cases where multiple digital signs are in the same physical location. A few examples are:
- anc-smh105-ds1
- anc-smh105-ds2
- anc-ssb118-rs
- anc-rh101-rs
Video Conferencing Cameras
The naming convention for fixed mount video conference cameras is:
Locationcode-BldgRoom-vc(UnitID)
Where locationcode is the campus abbreviation, bldgroom represents the short building identifier as listed below, and the room number of the location, followed by vc which stands for Video Conferencing, and optionally the UnitId for locations that have more than one video conferencing unit deployed. A few examples are:
- anc-admin201-vc
- anc-adm204-vc
- anc-ssb122-vc
Printers - Networked
The naming convention for general network (personal or group) printers is:
Locationcode-BldgRoom-Model
Where locationcode is the campus abbreviation, and bldgroom represents the short building identifier as listed below, the room number, and model represents the model of the device. A few examples are:
- anc-ssb170-4350
- anc-lib101-4650
Printers – Managed Print
The naming convention for printers utilizing UAA's Managed Print Service is:
Locationcode-BldgRoom-TypeDeviceID
Where locationcode is the campus abbreviation, and bldgroom represents the short building identifier as listed below, the room number, type represents the printer type (e.g. BW for black & white, clr for color, etc.), and deviceID represents a numerical number to uniquely identify multiple printers of the same type. A few examples are:
- anc-ssb170-bw1
- anc-ssb170-bw2
- anc-lib103-bw1
- anc-lib103-clr1
Workstations will be configured to print to the Spool Queue for the location, and not directly to the physical printer. The naming convention for Spool Queues is:
Locationcode-BldgRoom_Type
Where locationcode is the campus abbreviation, bldgroom represents the short building identifier as listed below, the room number, and type represents the printer type (e.g. BW for black & white, clr for color, etc.) A few examples are:
- anc-ssb170_bw
- anc-lib103_bw
- anc-lib103_clr
- anc-smh111_bw
- anc-smh111_clr
Note: Since spool names are not device names it is permissible to exceed the 15-character limitation imposed by MS Active Directory.
Servers
The naming convention for servers is:
Locationcode-InfrastructureroleDeviceID
Where locationcode is the campus abbreviation, and infrastructurerole represents what the device is used for, and deviceID represents a numerical number to uniquely identify multiple devices of the same type. A few examples are:
- anc-fs03
- anc-sql01
- anc-sql02
- anc-web01
- koc-fs01
- koc-web01
Network Devices
The naming convention for networking devices is:
locationcode-bldg-room-type&increment#
Where locationcode is the campus abbreviation, and bldg represents the short building identifier as listed in below, the room number, type represents purpose, and increment # indicates number of the device.
The type abbreviations are:
- Environment Monitor = EVM
- Firewall = FW
- Long Range Ethernet = LRE
- PSTN Gateway = PSTN
- Router = R
- Switch = just include increment number
- Voice Gateway = VG
- Wan Router = WR
A few examples are:
- anc-ssb-170-1
- anc-ssb-123-r1
- anc-ssb-123-1
- anc-ssb-123-2
- anc-ssb-123-wr1
- anc-ssb-123-fw1
- anc-ssb-123-fw2
- anc-uc-126-1
- anc-adm-146-1
Note: Since network devices are not joined to Active Directory it is permissible to exceed the 15-character limitation imposed by MS Active Directory.
Azure
The naming convention for devices, and resources is:
Locationcode-Datacentercode-InfrastructureroleDeviceID(-rg)
Where locationcode is the location abbreviation, Datacentercode represents which Azure data center the resource is housed at, infrastructurerole represents what the device is used for, deviceID represents a numerical number to uniquely identify multiple devices of the same type, and the optional parameter of -rg represents the object is an Azure resource group.
Furthermore, Microsoft has a fairly extensive set of Naming rules and restrictions for Azure resources. The generalized summary is as follows:
- Resource names are case-insensitive, unless specifically noted (see the naming rules and restrictions linked above for details)
- Use lowercase letters (a - z), and the dash (-) characters only
- Use digits 0 - 9
- Max name length varies from 24 - 260 characters (see the naming rules and restrictions linked above for details)
Azure Data Center Region codes
Azure has data centers located all over the world; however, only data centers located within the United States should be used. The following region's are listed in order of preference.
- wu2 - West US 2, Washington
- wcu - West Central US, Wyoming
- wu1 - West US, California
- cu1 - Central US, Iowa
- ncu1 - North Central US, Illinois
- scu1 - South Central US, Texas
- eu2 - East US 2, Virginia
- eu1 - East US, Virginia
For those individuals wanting additional information please review the Microsoft Azure Data Center locations documentation.
A few examples are:
- az-wu2-web01
- az-wu2-web01-rg
- az-wu2-sql01
- az-wu2-guestvdi01
Audio Visual Network Devices
The naming convention for Audio Visual networked devices is:
locationcode-bldgroom-avtype&increment#
Where locationcode is the campus abbreviation, and bldg represents the short building identifier as listed in below, the room number, type represents purpose, and increment # indicates number of the device.
The type abbreviations are:
- Video Switch = vs
- Wireless Presenter = wp
- Touch Panel = tp
- Processor = pr
- Audio Processor = dsp
- Camera = cam
- Codec = vc
- Display = tv
- Projector - pjt
- AV over IP = nav
A few examples are:
- anc-ssb170-avvs1
- anc-ssb123-avwp2
- anc-ssb123-avdsp1
- anc-ssb123-avdsp2
- anc-ssb123-avtv1
- anc-ssb123-avtv1
- anc-ssb123-avtv2
- anc-uc126-avnav1
- anc-adm146-avvc1
Note: Since Audio Visual network devices are not joined to Active Directory it is permissible to exceed the 15-character limitation imposed by MS Active Directory.
Mobile Hotspot Devices
Mobile hotspots, also known as WiFi hotspots, are celluar conneted devices that allow you to connect to a WiFi network using a computer, smartphone, tablet, or other device while away from your home or office. Mobile hotspot devices owned, or leased, by the University of Alaska system when entered into the asset tracking system should use the following naming convention.
- hotspot-<15-digit IMEI number>
An example would be:
Note: Since mobile hotspot devices are not joined to Active Directory it is permissible to exceed the 15-character limitation imposed by MS Active Directory.
Limitations
Microsoft’s Active Directory currently has the following restrictions regarding device naming:
- Names are limited to a max of 15 characters.
- Periods should not be used
- Device names cannot be composed completely of numbers
- The last character must not be a minus sign
Allowed Characters
Device names can contain only alphabetical characters (A-Z), numeric characters (0-9), and the minus sign (-). No distinction is made between upper and lowercase characters; however, the use of lowercase characters is strongly recommended.
Disallowed Characters
Device names cannot contain the following characters:
- Ampersand ( & )
- Apostrophe ( ‘ )
- Asterisk ( * )
- At sign ( @ )
- Backslash ( \ )
- Braces ( { } )
- Caret ( ^ )
- Colon ( : )
- Comma ( , )
- Dollar sign ( $ )
- Exclamation point ( ! )
- Greater than sign ( > )
- Less than sign ( < )
- Number sign ( # )
- Parentheses ( ( ) )
- Percent ( % )
- Question Mark ( ? )
- Quote mark ( “ )
- Slash mark ( / )
- Tilde (~)
- Underscore ( _ )
- Vertical bar ( | )
Attached Documentation
Please see the attached Excel spreadsheet (in the 'Files' section of this article) for a list of buildings and their identified abbreviations.
Is there any additional information I should know about?
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