Recommended naming conventions for IU Windows computers and groups

• Overview
• OUs and DFS root names
• Servers, workstations, printers, groups, group policies, contacts, mail-enabled public folders, and distribution lists

Overview

The Microsoft NetBIOS namespace used at Indiana University is a completely flat namespace. This flat namespace is replicated across campuses via the UITS-provided WINS servers.

In your school or department, this means that even though your servers or workstations may be in a domain, this domain name is not part of the NetBIOS name. Names of computers, groups, and other objects need to be unique across campuses. Since there is no built-in hierarchy, hierarchy must be implemented through the names themselves. Note that WINS enforces unique names across campuses, and computer names are limited to 15 characters.

OUs and DFS root names

The syntax for organizational units (OUs) and Distributed File System (DFS) root names is:

 Campus-Department

Examples of this syntax include:

 BL-UITS, IN-MDEP

Servers, workstations, printers, groups, group policies, contacts, mail-enabled public folders, and distribution lists

The syntax for servers, workstations, printers, groups, group policies, contacts, mail-enabled public folders, and distribution lists is:

 Campus-Department-Descriptor

Examples of this syntax include:

 BL-UITS-Server1, IN-MDEP-WebServ1 BL-UITS-WS1, IN-MDEP-WS1 BL-UITS-HP8000 BL-UITS-MyGroup, IN-MDEP-MyGroup BL-UITS-LoopbackPolicy, IN-MDEP-OfficeXPDisk1InstallPolicy BL-UITS-GmailContact-JaneDoe, IN-MDEP-Username-Purdue BL-UITS-SharedPTOCalendar, IN-MDEP-PublicFolderContacts 

For a detailed listing of ADS policies, see ADS service policies at IU