Naming convention for new systems
From BeSTGRID
Q: Should we still use bestgrid.org domain for new systems and VMs?
A: Yes, we will continue to promote the BeSTGRID Grid community as the leading Grid community in NZ, and support it through each institution. One of the key goals of the project was to setup a sustainable infrastructure. Keeping it branded as BeSTGRID allows this to be obvious.
Q: Are figurative names acceptable?
A: It would be better if canonical names to be functional names such as
- headnode.cluster1.bestgrid.org
- compute1.cluster1.bestgrid.org
- compute2.cluster1.bestgrid.org
It is very difficult if you're not working with machines every day to know intuitively what their function is if they're named with figurative names, so for public consumption, we should use functional naming. Boring, but useful. Figurative names could be as aliases if desired. It's a tradition in systems circles to use figurative names. A good example are the Massey Helix and Double Helix clusters as these names denote figuratively the functional use of those clusters in bio and medical sciences. Auckland BeSTGRID cluster is general purpose one, so it would be better if it has a functional name.
Q: Would it be useful to assign acronym name to new systems like BGAC - BeSTGRID Auckland Cluster or so?
A: If we needed to optimize the names for performance reasons then an acronym would be good. However it's more important that the names are human readable, to ensure all parties across our and other organizations can immediately know what they are looking at without having to decipher a cryptic puzzle (such as an acronym). Therefore sticking to the literal names would be a preference.
