In
computing
Computing is any goal-oriented activity requiring, benefiting from, or creating computing machinery. It includes the study and experimentation of algorithmic processes, and development of both hardware and software. Computing has scientific, ...
, naming schemes are often used for objects connected into
computer network
A computer network is a set of computers sharing resources located on or provided by network nodes. The computers use common communication protocols over digital interconnections to communicate with each other. These interconnections ar ...
s.
Naming schemes in computing
Server naming is a common tradition. It makes it more convenient to refer to a machine by name than by its
IP address
An Internet Protocol address (IP address) is a numerical label such as that is connected to a computer network that uses the Internet Protocol for communication.. Updated by . An IP address serves two main functions: network interface ident ...
.
The
CIA named their servers after states.
Server names may be named by their role or follow a common theme such as colors, countries, cities, planets, chemical element, scientists, etc. If servers are in multiple different geographical locations they may be named by closest airport code.
Such as web-01, web-02, web-03, mail-01, db-01, db-02.
Airport code example:
lax-001
lax-002
arn-001
City-State-Nation example:
3-character unique number
2-character production/development classifier
3-character city ID
2-character state/province/region ID
2-character nation ID
Thus, a production server in Minneapolis, Minnesota would be nnn.ps.min.mn.us.example.com, or a development server in Vancouver, BC, would be nnn.ds.van.bc.ca.example.com.
Large networks often use a systematic naming scheme, such as using a location (e.g. a department) plus a purpose to generate a name for a computer.
For example, a web server in NY may be called "nyc-www-04.xyz.net".
However, smaller networks will frequently use a more personalized naming scheme to keep track of the many hosts. Popular naming schemes include trees, planets, rocks, etc.
Network naming can be hierarchical in nature, such as the
Internet
The Internet (or internet) is the global system of interconnected computer networks that uses the Internet protocol suite (TCP/IP) to communicate between networks and devices. It is a ''internetworking, network of networks'' that consists ...
's
Domain Name System
The Domain Name System (DNS) is a hierarchical and distributed naming system for computers, services, and other resources in the Internet or other Internet Protocol (IP) networks. It associates various information with domain names assigned ...
. Indeed, the Internet employs several universally applicable naming methods:
uniform resource name (URN),
uniform resource locator
A Uniform Resource Locator (URL), colloquially termed as a web address, is a reference to a web resource that specifies its location on a computer network and a mechanism for retrieving it. A URL is a specific type of Uniform Resource Identifi ...
(URL), and
uniform resource identifier
A Uniform Resource Identifier (URI) is a unique sequence of characters that identifies a logical or physical resource used by web technologies. URIs may be used to identify anything, including real-world objects, such as people and places, conc ...
(URI).
See also
*
Systematic name
*
Geospatial network
*
Naming convention
References
External links
* RFC 1178 - "Choosing a Name for Your Computer"
* RFC 2100 - "The Naming of Hosts"
Naming schemesNaming conventions in Active DirectoryURIs, URLs, and URNs: Clarifications and Recommendations 1.0
Naming conventions
Network addressing
Servers (computing)
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