Standard: Active Directory naming objects

• This standard covers all objects that will be added to the Active Directory (AD) at Miami University

Rationale

• To provide a consistent manner to identify the functional area responsible for a given object in the Active Directory, and to prevent collisions between objects in different organizational units (OUs)

Standard

Naming prefixes

• All objects created in the AD by any process other than the AcctGen process will have a prefix from Directory Services Prefix list, followed by a dash, in front of the object name. Department codes will be 3 characters long, and Division codes will be four characters long. Object names may contain one or more dashes. Objects created before this standard came into effect do not need to be modified to conform to these standards
• The Directory Services Prefix list will be maintained online by IT Services

Objects to be exempted

• The following objects are exempted from the naming prefix requirement:
  • Organizational Units (OUs)
  • Object attributes
  • Accounts or Groups that are required in order for a specific application to function
  • Objects created by the AcctGen process
• For any exempted object that was not created by AcctGen, documentation of the object must be submitted to the Directory Services group and a detailed description of the object must be embedded in the object’s metadata. Names of exempted objects may contain one or more dashes

Short names

• The short name of an object cannot contain any space characters

Exceptions

• Any exceptions to this standard require approval from the Information Security Officer before they are implemented

Standard Administration

Next Review Date

• 07/01/2020

Responsible Officer

• Vice President for Information Technology & Chief Information Officer
  • This standard will be reviewed by the Directory Services group on an annual basis

Approval(s) and Date(s)

• Reviewed by: Directory Services Group
• Version 1.0 approved by: IT Services Leadership Team on: February 2, 2009

Revision History

• 30 January 2009: first draft
• 06 November 2009: revised naming prefixes
• 10 April 2017: updated
• 08 June 2017: links updated, standard template/format applied
• 21 February 2018: revised content per owner