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Suitable Naming Conventions For Workstations?
spectre_240sx writes "We've discussed server naming a fair amount in the past, but I haven't seen much about workstations. Where I currently work, we embed a lot of information in our workstation names: site, warranty end date, machine type, etc. I'm of the opinion that this is too much information to overload in the machine name when it can more suitably be stored in the computer description. I'd love to hear how others are naming their workstations and some pros and cons for different naming schemes. Should computers be logically tied to the person that they're currently assigned to, or does that just cause unnecessary work when a machine changes hands? Do the management tools in use make a difference in how workstations are named?"
Agreed. spectre_240sx, your question was bad and you should FEEL bad.
A computer name should not be a database. If you want to store information such as site, warranty end date, machine type, ... use a database.
Asset tags systems work well for this. It's what we use. Easy for RA requests too..just ask the user to read their asset tag number (if you don't have it memorized because it's the 5,689th time this dumbfuck has called you asking how to move a file from one folder to another.) and you can punch it in and connect.
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I name computers after girls I've fucked.
Right hand and left hand?
People move, machines get re-allocated, rebuilt, etc.
I use the service tag. Why? Several reasons:
Stuff like "bob-pc" or "accounts1" does not scale and either becomes inconsistent, or you need to keep renaming PCs which presents other issues (fucks up any configuration databases you have, etc).
So, service tag - boring as fuck, but does the job.
I run: Windows, OS X, Linux, FreeBSD. Just because you have a hammer, doesn't mean everything is a nail.
As long as you don't try calling it a "Tolkien Ring" network...
Paleotechnologist and connoisseur of pretty shiny things.
That's close to our system. We use adult toy names. It's pretty good, but you have to be careful not to use something obvious like "vibrator".
Arab, Bead, Tickler, Butterfly, MagicWand, Swing, Clamp, JackRabbit, etc... no one's caught on yet.
W..w..W - Willy Waterloo washes Warren Wiggins who is washing Waldo Woo.
If only there was some lightweight, distributed DB that could be used to associate a hostname with an IP address...
I want to delete my account but Slashdot doesn't allow it.
I like to run a toke'n network. You take the toke, and when you're done, pass it along to the next node. I prefer this strategy for its high throughput. Not only that, but it's ahead of it's time. My network has been running a cloud for a couple decades already, and it was green before it was the in thing. The only problem is I can't remember what I named my workstations, so I'm afraid I can't help answer the question.
Be relentless!
I name computers after girls I've fucked.
Well yes you can techincally name them al localhost. In fact they all have that name by default.
We simply use UserName_SocialSecurityNumber_Room#_DayOfWeek For example: JaneDoe_123456789_314A_Thursday Since the day of the week tends to change, we have simple startup scripts which fix the workstation name each morning, assuming they shut down the previous evening.