2y ago

What is your machine naming scheme?

I've ended up with a number of machines on my network, and a need to name them all in a somewhat logical way. For several years I had them named after the planets, which worked well until the PCs for myself, my girlfriend, servers and Raspberry Pi's quickly summed up to more than the eight planets. I've broadened it somewhat to include any Greek/Roman mythological figure, but the system is definitely not as clean as it used to be.

Do you have a coordinated naming theme for your machines?

318 comments

Every machine is named after what it does (although I do 1337-ify the names, because I'm still a late 90s IRC teen at heart). If you've ever been onboarded into a sysadmin role where all the machines are named with whatever whimsical naming scheme each department chose, you'll fast develop a visceral hatred for non-descriptive naming schemes. The fifth time you get a ticket saying something like 'Hedwig is down' and you have to go crawling through three layers of linked files on SharePoint to find what and where 'Hedwig' is, you'll be ready to beat the person who named it to death, and that attitude tends to persist to your home naming scheme :p
- So more of a "cattle" than "pet" approach in general?
- The fifth time you get a ticket saying something like ‘Hedwig is down’
  If only there was an excellent database to store where Hedwig.bthl4.sea.wa.goliath.corp was and maybe include an alias so you know it's NNTP5.goliath.corp also.
  I shall invent one. It shall replicated and synchronize quickly. It shall interface and accept changes and share data. It will be simple to query so everyone can use it. I shall call it DNS . If people get snippy, I shall next invent an HS record.
  Learn to use the tools, man. It'll help you adhere to a 40-year-old RFC on naming things.
  
  Yes, if you've built the network from scratch that works. Retrofitting it into an existing network however is a massive piece of work when you don't have that single source of truth to start with however. On networks I've built sensibly, I'll happily give people whatever CNAME they want to refer to their machine, but the machines actual name is descriptive, not the other way round.
  
  I'll get right on rearchitecting the dns infrastructure of a large sprawling corporation, with mountains of technical debt from decades of acquisitions where they just mashed shit together. I'm sure that project will get approved.
  Don't be condescending, man.

Depending on the size of the machine I'll call it big/large/huge/small/Lil then a human name like John. BigJohn is my main server and hopefully one day he can get an upgrade and become large John.
- This, but it’s all suggestive names, such as:
  Big Johnson, Small Richard, lil Peter, Huge Willy, etc.

Discworld characters. My storage servers name is Luggage, my phone is 'Ig', the vacuum is named after a monk.
- Same, but mine is specifically "The Watch"-Characters. Proxmox is Vimes, NAS is Colon, Pi is Nobby, Linux VM is Angua, Windows VM is Carrot, and so forth.
- I use Discworld geography for physical devices. VMs have character names.
- the vacuum is named after a monk
  Lu Tze?
  
  Yes! 🤣

Porn stars that the machines remind me of.
Stop judging me.
- Well, now i need to know which ones are and what particular feature of the pcs reminds you of them

node-0 node-1 node-2 ...
Everything runs kubernetes so the names are mostly irrelevant.
Years ago I worked at a company who named everything after WoW characters. I wished murder was legal in those days.
- "did you just kill LUN11 or LUN01? Oh no! Let's hope the backup is okay!" -- paraphrased from 9 years ago.
  You know what's worse than an image you can hold in your head and know you need to work on Gandalf and not Shaggy? "were we decomming uswablsalc108, or was is uswablslca018? Better check again," and remember why telephone numbers were only 7 digits long.

All computers are named after dogs. My dogs, dogs in the family etc. the dog name should be carefully match to the computer’s role and characteristics.
My peerlessly reliably golden retriever will almost always have a server named after him. The most powerful computer in the house is named after the monstrously large golden my parents had when I was young. My sons gaming pc is fast but perpetually broken, named after our greyhound. Laptops are named for smaller dogs, SBC devices get named after toy size dogs.
Wi-Fi ssids should always be named after cats.
This is the natural way of things.

Derek Derek1 DerekNew Derek2 NewDerek Ted DerekNew2 DerekTheServer Derek-Derek DerekMini
- Also, MaximumDerek
- Derek_final_v4
- DerekDerekBoBerekBananaFanaFoFerek_1

Anime girls. I want to change but I’m too far gone to have a random name
Rei - main pc
Asuna - main server
Milim - plex
Aqua - laptop
Darkness - first plex (the drives failed and lost everything rip)
Rem - raspi (pihole)
Ram - second raspi (home assistant)

Ungulates. Because who doesn't like a hoofed animal?
My client machines are even-toed ungulates (order Artiodactyla) and my servers/IoT machines are odd-toed (order Perissodactyla). I'm typing this on Gazelle. My router is called Quagga, both after the extinct zebra subspecies and the routing protocol software (I don't use it any more but hey, it's a router).
Biological taxonomy is a great source of a huge number of systematic (and colloquial) names.
- This is my favourite comment. I laughed out loud. Thank you.

Highest mountains on Earth. Maybe not the best idea, since it took me a while to memorize Kangchenjunga.
- Hey, home labs are for learning..
- At least you didn't choose Welsh towns or lakes in Massachusetts...
- I do Greek goods and Titans which leads to a similar problem. But I just love that my main proxmox host is namend after a Titan with many arms.

A friend of mine names all his hosts afer famous battleships, his dad names every host after Star Trek ships and their wireless networks are all named after LOTR locations.
As for me, each hostname consists of the device type and the location of the host, no matter if it's local or a vps in a datacenter somewhere.

Physical machines get stars names: Vega, Arcturus, Polaris, Fomalhaut, Deneb, Antares, Procyon, Algol, Aldebaran... and so on.
Virtual machines naming scheme is more reasonable: [os]-[role][number if needed]. Examples:
alp-proxy
talos-controlplane-3, talos-worker-1, talos-worker-6
deb-storage
- I use the same as you for virtuals(os-mainFunction), and similar for physical (brand-lpt/dsk/srv-mainUsage - Len-lpt-VR1, Srfc7-work, hp-srv-pve1).
  I am boring like that.
  I also don't name vehicles.

I use names of mice from popular movies and TV shows. I use this list.
I know it's not useful, but it's fun to me. I would never use it in a professional environment.

I'm incredibly boring. I name them with the company/model name. And what role they have appended.
- Cute naming schemes are for people who don't have lots of servers. At my work we have over 700 servers. We're not naming them after something arbitrary, we're being descriptive.

Gravity falls characters: Mabel, Dipper, Soos, Wendy, etc...
- Do you match the service with the characters personality?
  
  That's a TODO, atm they're names that reflect their role. So my reverse proxy is "roundabout" because it directs traffic internally

I usually go with characters from the Discworld series. So far I’ve had a Rincewind, Ridcully, Twoflower, Weatherwax, Ponder, Librarian, Luggage, and Hex, plus a router called “The Clacks”. Really ought to get Vimes and crew into the mix, now that I think of it… maybe the next one will be Angua or Carrot.

Servers (physical or virtual) get named based on usage: host-lab-01, vpn-guest-name, nas-01, proxmox-01, etc.
My wife's laptops get named [her name]-[model].
My machines (physical or virtual) get named after fairies from Pixie Hollow.
Writing this out makes me think I did my wife's machines dirty, though. Should have named them after fairies as well.

Personally I use corporate-like naming scheme for my devices, the format is:
[AABB-CCCC-DDEE]
AA: Location of the device - HQ (home), CL (cloud).
\ BB: Role of the device - HV (hypervisor), SV (server), NW (network) and workstation (WS).
\ CCCC: Device brand (for NW), application running (for SV), and workstation purpose (for WS).
\ DD: For server and workstation - OS running on the device (WN=Windows, LX=Linux, MA=macOS). For network device - their role on network (RT=router, AP=access point, SW=switch).
\ EE: # of the device, year of purchase for WS.
For example, here's my router, KASM server and my gaming PC hostnames:
undefined

HQNW-UBNT-RT01 HQSV-KASM-LX01 HQWS-GAME-WN16
Still trying to optimize this naming scheme, like removing all the dash, but currently too lazy to do it lol.
- My kubernetes cluster is k3s1, k3s2, k3w1, k3w2, etc. My load balancer is called... lb.home.lan. I guess that we are not as creative.

Kittybox: old laptop that my cats like sitting on
Thinbox: new laptop that is thiner then kittybox.
Tallbox: desktop
Tinybox: BeagleBone black single board computer acting as server

I use significant hardware component or model:
Z390
AERO15
...or sometimes intended purpose:
USERV - Ubuntu SERVer
PlexBox - Plex Server
NAS - NAS
Runner - GitLab Runner
MDEV - Mobile DEVelopment
MDEV2 - Mobile DEVelopment, Version 2
I also have a Kubernetes cluster that ranges from K8S_0 to K8S_5.
- Runner
  RFC 1178 - never name a host after a currently-unique service it provides.
  
  It doesn't quite say that, but I think the meaning is essentially the same: "Don't choose a name after a project unique to that machine." - RFC 1178
  For my homelab, I think that's fine to do. I'm unlikely to have multiple Plex servers locally, for example, and if so, numerically naming them is fine - I provision with Ansible, and if I'm at the point where I'm having sequentially numbered hosts, they'll be configured as cattle anyway. Also, having the names reflect the services a host provides makes it easier to match in my playbooks.
  I think it's a better scheme than turning to mythology, fiction, or animal species, which oddly enough RFC 1178 does encourage you to do.

Hell-related, mixed from Greek mythology and Christian mythology.
Hades: THE main server. I mean it knows and controls everything
Charon: the router. Self-explanatory
Hell: my laptop. Its brand is Dell. It's where all this started.
Limbo: my other laptop
- "Hey, how do I get to the Plex server?"
  "Open your browser and go to Hell"
  "..."

Desktops and PCs are just OS name and version. Proxmox cluster is Ankh-Morpork (from Disc world) and nodes are Ankh Morpork street names: Treacle Mine, Pseudopolis Yard, Attic Bee, etc.

@aquova
Call me boring but
First 3 = OS/appliance type
Next 3 = Purpose/role
Last Character = Environment / lane
(numbers added if more than one)
Having a server called "Enterprise" is cool ... but when I get an email saying WINNASP or RHLFTPQ are down, it's much more useful and descriptive.
- I'd definitely do this for work but I know who farnsworth is on my home LAN

At work I name them after Greeks gods, at home after Alps peaks.

I don't remember where I started, but for a long time it was Firefly characters. I had to dig deep enough to name a system YoSaffBridge.
Then I switched to gemstones from Steven Universe. Which I still use for mostly for "end user devices", i.e. desktops, mobile, cars (mine is peridot).
The functional stuff and the VMs I name by function. Router is router, switches are sw-0#, pihole-0#, minecraft, plex, ipam (yes I have an ipam for my network), etc...
It's simpler and I like to be able just ssh/browse to "function" than trying to remember that ipam is on bismuth.
Years of working for a company that did lots of acquisitions, where I had to deal with integrating whimsically named infrastructure, gave me a strong appreciation for a functional and consistent naming scheme.

All of my machine names are related to Elvis Presley. Elvis has been my desktop PC for years, and I have or have had Priscilla, Lisa-Marie, ColonelParker, Blue-Hawaii, Hound Dog, Memphis, Tupelo, and Graceland. I want to rethink this a bit to have to flow better, maybe have Graceland as my network name, or maybe the router. Also thinking about changing to something space-related or Norse Mythology as the theme.

I use trees and other types of shrubbery. Towers and laptops are named after trees while Pis and the like are named after bushes and ferns.
- Examples please?? I love this!
  
  Pine, Oak, and Aspen for the towers on the network. My primary laptop is Rubber and my Surface tablet is called Birch. My raspberry Pi 4 is Pedatus, the species name of some raspberry bushes.

Shakespeare.
Hamlet, Puck, Beatrice, Portia, Horatio, Antony, etc. My wife's devices have always been females.

DHARMA stations (from the show LOST)
Arrow, Swan, Flame, and Pearl so far :)
Edit: also funny to see there's 108 comments as of now

Fruit trees. There's a ton of them.

Try monopoly board street names like oxford road or parklane. Or maybe flower names like daisy or pertunia.

One of my nicknames is Hugo. I have a Windows, a macOS, a Debian and a Raspbian machine.
So I call them Hugowin, Hugotosh and Hugopi. The Debian machine mostly runs Plex so it is named Plexy. And my Phone is called iBobes because someone once told me that Bobes mean ass in german and i though that is incredibly funny.
- FYI: Bobes does not mean ass in german. That's not even a german word.
  Edit: Maybe they meant "Popo" which is closer to butt/behind in english
  
  German here, yes it does and it is. It's not a high German word, but a dialect one (but it's present in multiple German dialects, mostly all Franconian ones, as well as Hessian and Swabian). Usually it's written "Bobbes", though.

I just name them based on the case labels, model name, and/or server function. My main host server is "DellPVE", gaming computer is "Phanteks", Plex server named "Plex", octoprint is named "Octoprint" etc..

Battlestar Galactica years ago. Dradis for the domain name and ships for the computers.
Galactica.dradis Pegasus.dradis Basestar.dradis And so on. Made it fun.

I only use robot names
Bender B. Rodriguez
Roberto
R. Daneel Olivaw
C3PO
Robotina

I go with characters from Super Mario, eg Luigi, Bowser, Yoshi. I like them because they’re short, easy to type and memorable.
In case people don’t know, https://namingschemes.com/Main_Page can be a good source of inspiration.

My old company used Greek and Roman gods and heroes. Hermes01 was the mail server, for example (because Hermes was the messenger of the gods). I don't remember all of them, but we had demeter (esx clusters), zeus (file servers iirc), Ares (backup servers), and other server names like that.

Mine are all based on Norse Myths. My various servers are named for the nine realms, and the personal devices are named after Gods/Heroes/Creatures.
For example my main Desktop rig is named "Midgard" and my phone is "Odin".
- That's my naming scheme as well. All the big servers are named after the realms. Other devices get monsters, etc

I do Japanese city names and the drives in the machines are named after railway/subway stations in said city.

I use Quake 3 characters names: doom, crash, sorlag, razor, bitterman, xaero, ...

I used to name my cloud VMs after Monogatari characters but now I just settle with xxn.domain.tld so it's easy to remember when I need to SSH into one.
xx = shortcode for which service the VM is from (for example Azure = az, DigitalOcean = do)
n = VM number from 1-9
do2.domain.tld

@home: In the Seventies and Eighties, I didn't bother naming them. In the nineties it was either dead dog names (because I missed the dogs) or the colour of the box (blue and purple). Then in the 00-ies I used a short but explanatory descriptions like SRVBKP1, PCOS2, LTDebby (for laptop Debian). Today all Raspberry Pi's and personal VPS's are named after (dead) ancestors (and the mount points on them are named after things they liked).

I use planets from dune:
Caladan: Plex, podgrab
Arrakis: Nextcloud
Corrin: Baby buddy
Lampadas: Deluge
GeidiPrime: Gitea
Kaitain: Reverse proxy

Whatever I'm feeling at that moment My server is "bigdellthing" because it's a Dell r620 My laptop is "lily-legion-5-pro" because I was feeling unoriginal My other laptop is "hunterbidenslaptop" because there were some dumbasses talking about the damn hunter biden laptop conspiracy theory by me

Because I’m a huge dork, all my machines are named after the FFXIV jobs:
Desktop-Red Mage Laptop-Machinist RaspberryPi-Sage etc.

I name them after the cpu inside.
But i only have 3 pcs. No pi's or other things, so its a bit simpler... for now.

Names from various Final Fantasy titles. Playable character names for workstations. Names of summons for servers. Names of cities and locations for networking devices. Names of Moogles for some services that I wanted to give a unique name.
I generally like to take a whole "universe" for naming schemes. Star Trek is another favoured one, since you get a variety of names in different categories. Characters, Ships, Places, etc.

Server01, server02, server03...am I doing this wrong?

For work, two letters for the type of machine, two numbers for the location, three letters for the department, and two numbers for the device.
LT01MKT27 = laptop at HQ, in marketing, 27 is the unique ID
SV05EXC03 = server at remote office #5, running exchange, 03 is the unique ID
At home, goofy on-the-fly names!

I kept the naming scheme I used when I was doing independent tech support: snack bars. People got a chuckle when they heard "Kit Kat was misbehaving". So I kept it for my servers, Kit Kat, Toaster & Strudel, and Snickers

I have found my kin here I see.
Greek god names, Mission code names, uncommon colors, famous mountains, depending on the type of devices. I must have a hundred different ones by now.
- Greek and Roman god names all the way!

318 comments