I was pondering this morning as I noted another server being deployed in the environment I am currently working on with the rather sterile name of NT097 (being that is is the 97th Windows Server to be deployed, the NT heralding back from the days of NT4).  Other sites I have worked in recently have different although very utility style names, some hint at what the server does some to not, examples:
NTCOMP01 - Again a Windows server (NT from NT4 days), COMP because it is at the Computer Centre site, and the 01, because its the first.
akl-exch-01 - akl because as you can probably guess its in Auckland, exch because its an Exchange server, 01 because its the first one.

I could go on with more examples, nice standard naming with some useful information, everyone knows where they stand, a new server is easily names from a predefined formula.

But those of us who have been around 10-15+ years will might miss how it used to work...

Back in the day we named server whatever we felt like.  The first NT box I ran across in 1994 was called FLAMINGO, why, because the guy who built it liked flamingos.  The old Netware server was called (wait for it... drum roll please... SERVER, duh how original)

Server names were named after what ever was popular at the time, popular themes were based on Star Wars, Lord of the Rings, South Park (KENNY was a file server at one place I have worked, imagine what they said when they had to reboot it...), The Simpsons, Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy, and I go on.  Some places had schemes that had some form of order, like elements on the Periodic table (I now know how to spell Deuterium and Technetium after having to ping them so often!), Phonetic alphabet (ALPHA, BRAVO, CHARLIE etc...).  These were all very cool and I still come across the odd legacy strange name, but they are becoming rarer and rarer.

My all time favourite though was a firewall called ASBESTOS.

 

Have we lost something here, our sense of humour perhaps, or are we in a better place with our structured naming standards (IMHO unfortunately as fun as it was I think it is the later).