Server Names For a New Generation

itwbennett writes "Server naming is well-trod ground on Slashdot. But as new generations enter the workforce, they're relearning the fundamentals of what makes a good scheme. Can servers named after characters from The Simpsons or The Howard Stern show stand the test of time? If you name your servers after the Seven Dwarfs, can you have any doubt that Grumpy will cause you trouble? Striking a balance between fun and functional is harder than it seems."

If I name my server "Coca~Cola" ...

[Taco Cowboy]

... can I get sued for copyright infringement ?

Re:Bugs?

[emurphy42]

from the tempting-fate dept.

Server Names: The Next Generation

[mjwx]

Make it so.

Now that I'm mid 30's I realize I'm not young.

[pecosdave]

I know the Pokémon names are going to get old fast.

Star Wars, Star Trek, even Battlestar Galactica are great sources for names. JigglyPuff is NOT a server name!

I name them after girls

[simoncpu was here]

I name my computers, VMs, and bots after female characters (Inara, Padme, Daenerys, Trinity, etc). It originated from a long forgotten time when I can't get laid.

Simple...

[fahrbot-bot]

... I name all my systems "bob".
I also named my dog "Stay". Sure he gets a little confused sometimes -- "Come here, Stay" -- but like the server names, it keeps things interesting.

Doctor Who

[Anonymous Coward]

My main server is called TARDIS, because it's bigger on the inside...

Re:Bugs?

[slackware 3.6]

Or you could name them after Linux distro's those are almost infinite to.

Re:I name them after girls

[Sneeka2]

It originated from a long forgotten time when I can't get laid.

Too bad your freudian slip of mixing past and present tense gave you away.

Re:I name them after girls

[Sneeka2]

I name mine after girls that I actually laid. And I'm running a data center for Google.

Ba-dum-bum. [instantrimshot.com]

Thanks, XKCD

[Anonymous Coward]

I named my server Robert'); DROP Table students;--

Re:I name them after girls

[jtownatpunk.net]

I name mine after girls that I actually laid. And I'm running a data center for Google.

So....

Christy_from_Canada_1, Christy_from_Canada_2, Christy_from_Canada_3, ...Christy_from_Canada_99999

Re:I name them after girls

[Sneeka2]

Yeah, that's actually a bit of a problem. Canadians really need to get a little more creative in naming their daughters.

With apologies to T.S. Eliot

[Dave Emami]

"The Naming of Servers is a serious matter,
It isn't just one of your holiday games.
You may think at first I'm as mad as a hatter
When I tell you a server has three different names..."

... those being DNS entry, IP, and the one which "the server itself knows, and never will confess."

Re:Bugs?

[FormOfActionBanana]

At last count there are over 640K bugs! That ought to be enough for any organisation.

HHGTG

[Space]

Some names will stand the test of time. A box with two monitors should of course be named Zaphod.

You'll strain something

[dutchwhizzman]

You will strain something if you have a twister mat laid out in mission control, so you can point out how to move data across your platform.

Re:With apologies to T.S. Eliot

[laejoh]

Can't believe noone mentioned this: picking a good server name is important [xkcd.com].

Re:But I didn't paint my server red and white !

[trancemission]

Our IT network uses this convention, annoys the hell out of the network engineers as we now have servers like cerise, cerulean etc...black and white was fine ;)

Re:If I name my server "Coca~Cola" ...

[Roy van Rijn]

That might be a good (new) scheme as well: Coca Cola, Coca Cola Light/Diet Coke, Coca Cola Zero, Coca Cola Vanilla, Coca Cola Cherry, Coca Cola Lime, Caffeine-Free Coca-Cola. And it might be extended with other drinks from the brand: Fanta, Sprite, Minute Maid, Fruitopia, Dasani, Simply Orange, (etc)

Re:I name them after girls

[Anonymous Coward]

I always imagined Google had more than two servers. At least if "My Left Hand" server goes down "My Right Hand" will still be working.

Re:Now that I'm mid 30's I realize I'm not young.

[Tastecicles]

Jigglypuff is that Prescott-based box with the stack of Maxtor drives in it... it vibrates, then explodes.

Re:Fun names worked great, for a while.

[Sooner Boomer]

Bottom line - if you can't say your server name 3 times fast, then you are hindering the humans that have to talk about that server on a daily basis.

So I guess "Wacky Waving Inflatable Arm-Flailing Tubeman" is out?

Re:Bugs?

[Talderas]

I'd rather take this a step further and name them after viruses.

Smallpox.
HIV.
Ebola.
Polio.

Re:I name them after girls

[clyde_cadiddlehopper]

Yeah, that's actually a bit of a problem. Canadians really need to get a little more creative in naming their daughters.

How about their racks? ChristyAA, ChristyC, ChristyDD...

Re:Dual naming

[khr]

lax-001
lax-002
lax-003

That name is PERMANENT unless it gets shipped to a new location

I take it then you prepend "ex-" to the name indicating they used to be lax...

Re:I name them after girls

[halcyon1234]

Christy_from_Canada_1, Christy_from_Canada_2, Christy_from_Canada_3, ...Christy_from_Canada_99999

He's got 99999 problems but a server name ain't one.