> I recommend documenting your naming standard and getting buy in across your 
> organization before you put it into place. 

This is a necessary condition for successful deployment, but not part of the 
schema.



On Jan 25, 2011, at 11:32 PM, David Miller wrote:

> On 1/25/2011 8:15 PM, Gary Steers wrote:
>> James makes a good point...
>> 
>>> Pick a scheme which:
>>>  1. Uses simple memorable names.
>>>  2. Makes business sense to you.
>>>  3. You know how to manage (database, publication, updates, etc.
>>> If I had to weight these criteria, I would weight 3 most heavily.
>> 
>> The other key thing to bear in mind is consistency and scalability... (i.e. 
>> design a scope that can grow with your network and needs
>> 
>> {interface/server}.{router/vmhost}.{city}.{country}.example.net
>> 
>> The other thing that doesn't really have any defined list is {city}, Some 
>> people prefer 2 letter, some 3 letter, some people use airport codes etc..
>> 
> 
> The naming schemes that I have developed that needed to be upgraded in the 
> past have almost always bumped up against scale, so build in much larger 
> scale than you ever think that you will need from the beginning.  You have X 
> devices now in Y locations, but your naming scheme should scale to X^Z 
> devices in Y^Z locations.
> 
> I agree that for network gear, this is is a good place to start (slightly 
> simplified here from above):
> 
> {interface}.{host}.{location}.example.net
> 
> 
> - Location
>  I personally prefer UN LOCODEs for country / city.  The UN already went to 
> the trouble of giving a unique code to every country/city.  Why do I use 
> them?  LON makes perfect sense as London, England... until you have devices 
> in London, KY and London, OH (the LOCODES for these Londons are GB LON, US 
> LDN, US LOZ).  In my opinion, airport codes (while certainly unique) work 
> well in some locales and not so well in others (so, I don't use them, YMMV).
> 
> - Host
>  I prefer, like many do, an acronym denoting the primary function of the 
> device.  ES (edge switch), AR (access router), CR (core router), etc... 
> whatever your internal terminology is.  If you will *ever* have more than 10 
> of a device anywhere, then I would recommend that you number out of double 
> digits (more than 100, then out of triple digits...).  That way in a sorted 
> list AR03 will be right between AR02 and AR04, where you expect it to be, 
> instead of between AR29 and AR30.  Standardizing on number length also limits 
> ambiguity in pressure situations and/or over noisy or less reliable 
> communication channels.
> 
> - Interface
>  Port names vary on gear from different vendors.  {interface type} - 
> {selector}* ... where selector repeats ordered from highest to lowest level 
> of granularity (e.g. rack/slot/module/port) is what I use.  You should use 
> whatever makes sense to you.  Are interface speeds or vlans important to your 
> infrastructure?  If so, then include them where appropriate.  Unless you have 
> exactly the same gear everywhere, you are going to have to be flexible here.
> 
> I recommend documenting your naming standard and getting buy in across your 
> organization before you put it into place.  By giving names to these 
> devices/interfaces at all, you are exposing information to the world.  What 
> makes perfect sense to engineering and support may give security, management, 
> and/or marketing heart palpitations.
> 
> Just my $0.02 (probably overvalued).
> 
>> Hope that helps!
>> 
>> G
>> 
>> ---
>> Gary Steers
>> Sharedband NOC/3rd Line Support
>> Sharedband
>> UK: +44 (0)1473 287207
>> US: +1 206 420 0240
>> E: gary.ste...@sharedband.com
>> 
>> We have a new support system - http://support.sharedband.com
>> 
>> 
>> -----Original Message-----
>> From: Cutler James R [mailto:james.cut...@consultant.com]
>> Sent: 25 January 2011 22:41
>> To: nanog group
>> Subject: Re: Network Naming
>> 
>> On Jan 25, 2011, at 3:50 PM, Nick Olsen wrote:
>> 
>>> Whats the rule of thumb for naming gear these days
>>> (routers,switches...etc). Or is there one?
>> Pick a scheme which:
>> 1. Uses simple memorable names.
>> 2. Makes business sense to you.
>> 3. You know how to manage (database, publication, updates, etc.
>> 
>> If I had to weight these criteria, I would weight 3 most heavily.
>> 
>> 
>> James R. Cutler
>> james.cut...@consultant.com
>> 
>> 
>> 
>> 
>> 
>> 
> 
> 

James R. Cutler
james.cut...@consultant.com





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