Device Naming Conventions

Article Purpose

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.​​

Additional Information

​General Recommendations

In general devices should begin with the location code of the campus it is affiliated with. UAA has the following campus codes:

• anc - Anchorage Campus, including metropolitan locations such as AvTech, ENRI, Eagle River, University Center, Joint Base Elmendorf Richardson.
• fbk - Military Extension sites in Fairbanks, including locations such as Ft. Wainwright, Eielson AFB
• kbc - Kachemak Bay Campus
• koc - Kodiak Campus
• krc - Kenai River Campus, including locations in Kenai, Soldotna, and Seward
• msc - Matanuska-Susitna College
• pws - Prince William Sound Community College, including locations such as Valdez, Cooper Basin Campus, Cordova Campus

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.

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).

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 Appendix A, 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.

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

Computer 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.

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 ( | )​

Anchorage Campus Building Abbreviations

Building Name	UAA Identifier	Workstation Naming Abbreviation
Administration Utility Building	ADU	ADU
Administration/Humanities Building	ADM	ADM
Alaska Airlines Center	AAC	AAC
Alaska Native Sciences & Engineering Programs Building	ANSEP	ANS
Allied Health Science Building	AHS	AHS
Arcade and Bridge Lounge	ABL	ABL
Auto/Diesel Technology Building	ADT	ADT
Aviation Storage Building	AVS	AVS
Aviation Technology Complex	AVC	AVC
Beatrice McDonald Hall	BMH	BMH
Behavioral Health Research & Services		BRS
Bookstore	BKS	BKS
1815 Bragaw Office Complex #1	BOC1	BC1
1901 Bragaw Office Complex #3	BOC3	BC3
Central Parking Garage	CPG	CPG
Commons	CMMNS	COM
ConocoPhilips Integrated Science Building	CPISB	ISB
Consortium Library	LIB	LIB
Custodial Storage Shed	CSS	CSS
Eagle River Campus (located in the Eagle Center)	ER	EC
East Campus Parking Garage	ECP	ECP
ANSEP Academy Building	AAB	AAB
East Hall Student Housing	EASTH	EH
Ecosystem-Biomedical H​ealth Laboratory	EBL	EBL
EBL Hazardous Material Storage	HMB	HMB
Edward & Cathryn Rasmuson Hall	RH	RH
Engineering & Computation Building	ECB	ECB
Engineering Greenhouse	EGH	EGH
Engineering & Industry Building	EIB	EIB
Engineering Temporary Building #1	ETB1	ET1
Engineering Temporary Building #2	ETB2	ET2
707 "A" Street Building	707A	ENR
Eugene F. Short Hall	ESH	ESH
Fine Arts Building	ART	ART
Gambell Professional Building		GPB
Gordon Hartlieb Hall	GHH	GHH
Greenhouse	GRN	GRN
Greenhouse Storage	GRS	GRS
Grounds Administration Office	GAO	GAO
Grounds Equipment Shed	GES	GES
Grounds Irrigation Equipment Shed	GIE	GIE
Grounds Staff Office	GSO	GSO
Parrish Bridge	PB	PB
Health Sciences Building	HSB	HSB
Lucy Cuddy Hall	CUDY	CY
Natural Sciences Building	NSB	NSB
North Hall Student Housing	NORTHH	NH
Engineering Parking Garage	ENPG	NPG
Professional Studies Building	PSB	PSB
Sally Monserued Hall	SMH	SMH
Social Sciences Building	SSB	SSB
Student Housing Building #1	SH1	SH1
Student Housing Building #2	SH2	SH2
Student Housing Building #3	SH3	SH3
Student Housing Building #4	SH4	SH4
Student Housing Building #5	SH5	SH5
Student Housing Building #6	SH6	SH6
Student Union	SU	SU
Temple Wood Building A	TWA	TWA
Temple Wood Building B	TWB	TWB
Temple Wood Building C	TWC	TWC
Temple Wood Building D	TWD	TWD
Temple Wood Building E	TWE	TWE
Temple Wood Building F	TWF	TWF
Total Energy Module #2	EM2	EM2
Total Energy Module #1	EM1	EM1
Transportation Research Building	TRB	TRB
University Center	UC	UC
University Lake Building	ULB	ULB
University Lake Annex	ULA	ULA
Vocational Rehabilitation Building	VRB	VRB
Wells Fargo Sports Center	WFSC	WFC
Wells Fargo Sports Center Ice Plant	WFIP	WIP
Wendy Williamson Auditorium	WWA	WWA
West Bridge	WB	WB
West Hall Student Housing	WESTH	WH

 

Kachemak Bay Campus Building Abbreviations

Building Name	UAA Identifier	Workstation Naming Abbreviation
Kachemak Bay Campus	KBC	KBC
Kachemak Bay Storage Building	KBS	KBS
Homer School Lease	KBW	KBW

 

Kenai River Campus Building Abbreviations

Building Name	UAA Identifier	Workstation Naming Abbreviation
Enid S. McLane Building	EMB	EMB
Clarence Goodrich Building	CGB	CGB
Clayton R. Brockel Building	CCB	CCB
Walter E. Ward Building	WWB	WWB
Warehouse	KPW	KPW
MAPTS Office Building	MAPTS	MAP

 

Kodiak Campus Building Abbreviations

Building Name	UAA Identifier	Workstation Naming Abbreviation
Benny Benson Building	BBB	BBB
Vocational-Technology Building	VTB	VTB
College Cabin #2	LC2	LC2
Adult Learning Center	ALC	ALC
Storage Shed

 

Mat-Su Campus Building Abbreviations

Building Name	UAA Identifier	Workstation Naming Abbreviation
Jalmar M. Kerttula Building	JKB	JKB
Alvin S. Okeson Building	OLB	OLB
Snodgrass Hall	SGH	SGH
Ortner Warehouse	OW	OW
Log Cabin Storage
Fred & Sara Machetanz Building	FSM	FSM
Bridge	MSB	MSB
Pump House	PH	PH
Glenn Massay Theater	GMT	GMT

 

Prince William Sound Community Campus Building Abbreviations

Building Name	UAA Identifier	Workstation Naming Abbreviation
Cordova Hall	CH	CH
Copper Basin Hall	CBH	CBH
Valdez Hall	VH	VH
Growden-Harrison Building	GHB	GHB
Whitney Museum	WM	WM
Cordova Extension	CE	CE
Copper River Basin Extension	CRB	CRB