Azure naming & conventions whiteboard

ostebovik.net / resources  ·  AZ-104  ·  pin tab to second monitor
CAF naming formula
{type}-{workload}-{env}-{region}-{instance}
type     vm / vnet / rg / st / nsg — always first, enables filtering
env      prod / dev / test / stg
workload  hub / spoke / web / az104 — identify what is served
region    eus / wus / eus2 / neu / weu
instance  01 / 02 — zero-padded, always include
storage: no hyphens — concatenate all segments: stdevwus301
Resource type abbreviations
Resource Abbr Note
Resource group rg
Virtual network vnet
Subnet snet
NSG nsg
VM (Windows) vm max 15 chars
Storage account st no hyphens
Load balancer ext lbe
Load balancer int lbi
Public IP pip
Key vault kv
App service app
Recovery vault rsv
Private endpoint pep
Network interface nic
Disk (os/data/etc) disk-data
Lab examples — web / dev / wus3
rg-az104-dev-wus3-01resource group
vnet-hub-dev-wus3-01hub vnet
vnet-spoke-dev-wus3-01spoke vnet
vm-win-dev-01windows vm (15 char limit)
nsg-web-dev-wus3-01nsg
stdevwus301storage (no hyphens)
pip-web-dev-wus3-01public ip
kv-dev-wus3-01key vault
Rules to remember
  • Type prefix always first — enables filtering in portal and CLI
  • Lowercase, hyphens only — no underscores, no spaces
  • Storage = no hyphens — concatenate all segments, lowercase only
  • Windows VM = 15 char max — drop region or shorten workload
  • prod stands out immediately — never abbreviate to p, use full word
  • Always pad instance numbers — 01 not 1, so sorting works correctly
  • Globally unique resources — kv, app, st need unique names across all of Azure, not just your sub
  • Tags complement names — use tags for owner, cost-center, project; names for topology
Lab context — AZ-104
workload
az104
environment
dev
region
wus3
instance
01
subscription
xxxxxxxx-xxxx-xxxx-xxxx-xxxxxxxxxxxx
resource group
rg-az104-dev-wus3-01
Region shortcodes
Region Code Region Code
East US eus North Europe neu
East US 2 eus2 West Europe weu
West US wus UK South uks
West US 3 wus3 Central US cus
Notes & scratch — type here, stays until you close the tab
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