Let’s be honest. Naming conventions are never the most exciting part of cloud work. But ignore them, and you’ll pay for it later – with confusion, wasted time, and even extra costs.
I’ve seen teams skip naming rules because “we’ll sort it out later”. Later never comes. Suddenly, every project has its own style. Some names are short, some are long, some are just random. No one writes anything down. The mess grows.
Then, finally, an “official” naming convention is published. Problem: some resources can’t be renamed. Now you’re stuck redeploying things just to fit new rules. Even worse, the naming convention keeps changing. Not for real improvements, just for the sake of change. You end up spending hours renaming things, but nothing is clearer or more useful. Just more work.
Why Good Naming Conventions Matter
A solid naming convention isn’t just for show. Here’s what it actually does:
- Keeps things tidy: Unifies resources across your cloud.
- Saves time: Makes it easy to find and group resources.
- Helps with automation: Easier to script, monitor, and apply policies.
- Controls costs: Simplifies billing and reporting.
- Reduces risk: Avoids accidental exposure of sensitive info.
Common Pitfalls (and How to Dodge Them)
| Pitfall | Impact | How to Avoid |
| No naming convention | Chaos, wasted time, confusion | Set rules early, document them |
| Rules keep changing | Frustration, wasted work, redeployments | Change only for real improvements |
| Ignoring provider limits | Failed deployments, inconsistent names | Know the limits up front |
| Cryptic or complex names | Hard to use, error-prone | Keep it simple and clear |
| Sensitive info in names | Security risk | Never include confidential data |
| Poor communication | Teams out of sync, mistakes | Announce changes, collect feedback |
What Should a Naming Convention Include?
Every company is different, but here are the basics:
- Resource type: VM, storage, DB, etc.
- Environment: prod, dev, test, etc.
- Location: Region or data center.
- Project or app: What’s running there.
- Uniqueness: Suffix or prefix to avoid name clashes.
Questions Before You Start
- Will you use automation? If yes, what for: grouping, policies, reports?
- How will you name resources: manually, scripts, or IaC?
- Will you use a naming generator, a central DB, or just a doc?
- What are the limits for each cloud provider? (Length, allowed characters, uniqueness, case sensitivity)
- What info is sensitive? Don’t expose it in names.
- How will you document and share the rules?
- How will you handle changes? Naming conventions aren’t set in stone, but don’t change them just to “refresh”.
What are the naming limitations?
Here are some limitations to watch for, which can vary by cloud provider and resource type:
- Maximum length: Naming character limits differ between services and resource types. Some services enforce shorter limits.
- Name uniqueness: Different resources require unique names across different scopes. For example, in Azure, uniqueness might be required at the resource group, subscription, or even global level. You may need to add a random number or character set to avoid collisions or deployment failures.
- Allowed characters: Each resource type might support different sets of characters. Avoid assuming uniform rules.
- Case sensitivity: Some resources aren’t case-sensitive, but others (like Azure blob storage) allow only lowercase names. This might not seem critical until you’re integrating with external systems that are case-sensitive.
- Character restrictions: Some resources don’t allow names to begin with special characters or numbers.
Cloud Provider Guidance
- Azure: Microsoft’s resource naming best practices
- AWS: AWS tagging and naming best practices
- GCP: Google’s resource naming recommendations
Final Tips
- Don’t reinvent the wheel. Start with best practices from your provider.
- Make sure your convention fits your company’s strategy and tools.
- Test your pattern before rolling it out.
- Document everything and keep it updated.
- Only change the convention when it’s truly needed.
Set up communication channels:
- Establish two-way communication with teams using the convention.
- Announce updates clearly.
- Provide a process for teams to report issues or request changes to the naming rules.
Naming conventions won’t win you any awards, but they’ll keep your cloud clean, organized, and less painful to manage. Set them early, keep them simple.
Further Reading & Resources
If you’re interested in learning more about cloud computing and common mistakes to avoid, check out my book:
„Mind the Gap: Most Common Cloud Mistakes”
🔗 Available on Gumroad
🔗 Available on Amazon
🌍 Visit the official book website
