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Institutional Asset and Device Naming Standards

Effective Date: August 13, 2025
Revised Date: September 17, 2025

1. Purpose

This document establishes a standardized institutional asset naming convention for all Arkansas State University (A-State) owned devices and applicable technology assets. The goal is to create a clear, consistent, and scalable system for identifying devices based on departmental ownership, type, and operating system, ensuring efficient inventory management, technical support, and integration with enterprise systems such as Microsoft Intune and TeamDynamix (TDX).

2. Scope

These standards apply to all A-State owned computers, servers, virtual machines, and other institutional technology assets that are managed, tracked, or supported by Information Technology Services (ITS). This also applies to all assets supported by decentralized campus technicians across administrative and academic departments.

The naming convention must be followed by all departments when commissioning, reassigning, or reimaging an institutional device. This standard may also be extended to other asset types (e.g., printers, POS systems) to promote uniformity across the enterprise.

3. Responsibilities

All university personnel involved in the provisioning, deployment, and configuration of institutional assets are responsible for following this naming standard. This includes:

  • Hardware Services: Responsible for ensuring that all newly procured and reimaged devices are named in compliance with the standard before being issued to end users.
  • Campus Technicians: Required to apply the correct naming convention during on- site setup, troubleshooting, or when reimaging/redeploying devices within their assigned departments or units.
  • Other Authorized Personnel: Any individuals with delegated authority to configure or rename institutional assets must always ensure compliance with this standard.

Non-compliance with these standards may result in corrective actions, including mandatory renaming of devices and possible audit findings during ITS asset reviews.

4. Naming Convention Schema

All standard device names will follow the structure below:

Department Code – Device Type & OS Code – Serial Number

Where:

  • Department Code:Uses the official department code list provided in Appendix A. As new departments form, this appendix will be updated by ITS to accommodate this.

  • Device Type Code: 

    • D = Desktop
    • L = Laptop
    • S = Server
    • K = Kiosk
    • V = Virtual Machine

  • Operating System (OS) Code:

    • W = Windows
    • M = Mac
    • L = Linux

  • Serial Number: Manufacturer’s serial number (may be truncated if necessary to meet system name length restrictions). For Apple devices and other platforms with shorter limits, truncation is expected to ensure the full name is 15 characters or fewer.

Example Device Names

  • SYS-DW-2X518M2 → Windows desktop at the ASU System Office

  • ABI-LW-2X518M2 → Windows laptop in the ABI department

  • SYS-DM-H2WGM0LF → Mac desktop at the ASU System Office

Note: All device names will be in uppercase. No lowercase characters are allowed.

Note: Device type code for Virtual Machine will be applied if an asset is both a VM and a server.

5. Naming Schema Special Considerations

Assets such as virtual machines (VM) and servers may differ slightly in naming scheme when compared to a standard asset such as a desktop or a laptop. Due to the nature of these resources, no serial number is required and can instead be supplemented with additional device information for ease of identification.

All alternative device names will follow the structure below:

Department Code – Device Type & OS Code – Alternative Code

Example Device Names

  • ITS-VL-PV-PD-01 → Linux VM that is an ITS resource. This is a private and production resource.

  • UPD-SW-WATCHGUARD01 → Windows Physical Server that is a UPD resource. It

    hosts the Watchguard resource and is the first of these servers.

A full list of alternate codes for VM's and Servers can be found in Appendix B of this document.

6. Justification for Asset Naming Convention

  • Immediate Identification – Enables ITS staff and departmental support teams to quickly identify the departmental owner, device type, and operating system, streamlining troubleshooting and support.

  • Simplified Inventory Management – Reduces complexity in tracking devices across Microsoft Intune, TDX, and other asset management systems.

  • Scalable and Sustainable – Supports institutional growth without ambiguity, enabling uniform standards across all campuses and departments.

  • Cross-Platform Consistency – Eliminates naming conflicts and promotes uniform standards, even when devices are managed by different teams.

7. Implementation and Compliance

  • All new devices entering the institutional asset inventory must follow the standard naming format at the time of deployment.

  • Existing devices must be renamed to align with the convention during reimaging, reassignment, or major system updates.

  • ITS will verify compliance during asset audits and periodic reviews of device inventory in Intune and TDX.

  • Devices utilizing the alternate codes laid out in section 5 of this document must have full written documentation, such as a referenceable spreadsheet, of their purpose, criticality, serial number (if not a VM) and functional ownership to be considered in compliance with this standard.

  • Exceptions to this standard must be approved in writing by the Chief Information Officer (CIO) or their designee.

This document will be reviewed and reaffirmed annually, or upon significant changes to university IT governance, systems, or regulatory requirements.

Effective Date: August 13, 2025
Next Review Date: August 13, 2026
Version: 1.1

Appendix A – Official Department Codes

The following table lists the approved department codes for use in the naming convention. This list is maintained by ITS to ensure consistency with institutional records.

Department Department Code
ABI ABI
Academic Affairs AA
Academic Diversity DIV
Access & Accommodation Services AAS
Accreditation & Assessment AS
Alumni, Development, University Advancement ADV
A-State Online Services AOS
Athletic Administration, Compliance, Marketing, Training, Sports ATH
Campus Card Center CCC
Career Services CS
Center for Excellence in Teaching CET
Chancellor's Office CHN
Childhood Services CHS
College of Agriculture COA
College of Business COB
College of Education COE
College of Engineering & Computer Science ENG
College of Liberal Arts & Communications (includes Art, Music, Theatre) CLA
College of Nursing NHP
College of Sciences & Mathematics CSM
Counseling Center CC
Delta Center for Economic Development DEL
Digital Creative Media DCM
Environmental Health & Safety EHS
Facilities Management FM
Faculty Center FC
Finance & Administration FIN
Financial Aid FA
FNBA FNB
Foundation FND
Fowler Center FOW
International Programs OIP
Graduate School GRD
Heritage Studies HS
Honors HON
HOWL HWL
Human Resources HR
Information Technology Services ITS
Institutional Research IR
ITS AV - Classroom devices AV
Library LIB
Military Science MIL
Multicultural Center MC
Museum MUS
Office of Admissions ADM
Parking Services PAR
Procurement Services FM
Publications & Communications Services PCS
Red Wolf Center RWC
Registrar REG
Research & Technology Transfer RTT
RESTORE RES
Sponsored Programs Accounting SPA
Testing Center TST
University College UC
University Housing UH
University Police UPD
Veterinarian School VET

Appendix B – Alternate Virtual Machine Codes

The following table lists the approved virtual machine codes for use in the naming convention. This list is maintained by ITS to ensure consistency with institutional records.

Code Description VM/Server Code
Production PD
Development DV
Public PB
Private PV

The name may vary but will clearly reflect the operational function of this asset.

 [SERVER FUNCTION]
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