Azure Naming Convention

Azure Naming Convention

Generate Azure resource names following the Microsoft Cloud Adoption Framework naming convention.

Sources:

• Resource naming
• Resource abbreviations

Naming Format

The standard pattern is:

<resource-abbreviation>-<workload>-<environment>-<region>-<instance>

Use hyphens - as delimiters. Omit optional components when not needed.

Naming Components

Component Order

Place the resource abbreviation first so resources sort by type. Follow with workload, environment, region, and instance:

<abbreviation>-<workload>-<environment>[-<region>][-<instance>]

Key Rules

1. Resource abbreviation lookup — Look up the correct abbreviation from references/abbreviations.md.
2. No special characters in restricted resources — Storage accounts, container registries, and Data Lake Storage cannot use hyphens. Concatenate components directly: stnavigatorprod001, crnavigatorprod001.
3. Length limits — Many Azure resources have strict max-length constraints. Always check the table below and truncate the workload component if needed. See references/naming-rules.md for full constraints.
4. Lowercase — Use lowercase for all resource names. Some resources (e.g., storage accounts) enforce this.
5. Instance numbering — Use three-digit zero-padded numbers (001, 002) unless the resource is a singleton.
6. Globally unique names — Resources with global scope (storage accounts, web apps, Key Vaults, Cosmos DB) must be globally unique. Append instance numbers or short random suffixes when necessary.
7. Start/end character rules — Many resources must start with a letter and end with a letter or number. Key Vaults and storage accounts cannot contain consecutive hyphens.

Length Limits Quick Reference

Resources with short max lengths that commonly cause naming failures:

For the complete naming rules (all resources, valid characters, start/end constraints), see references/naming-rules.md.

Scope Reference

Examples by Category

Compute and Web

vm-sql-prod-001              # Virtual machine
vmss-web-prod-001            # VM scale set
app-navigator-prod-001       # Web app
func-payments-prod-001       # Function app
asp-navigator-prod           # App Service plan

Containers

aks-navigator-prod-001       # AKS cluster
crnavigatorprod001           # Container registry (no hyphens)
ca-payments-prod             # Container app
cae-shared-prod              # Container apps environment

Networking

vnet-shared-eastus2-001      # Virtual network
snet-web-eastus2-001         # Subnet
nsg-weballow-001             # Network security group
pip-hadoop-prod-westus-001   # Public IP
lbe-navigator-prod-001       # Load balancer (external)
agw-shared-prod              # Application gateway
afw-shared-prod              # Azure Firewall

Databases

sql-navigator-prod           # Azure SQL server
sqldb-users-prod             # Azure SQL database
cosmos-navigator-prod        # Cosmos DB
redis-sessions-prod          # Azure Cache for Redis
psql-navigator-prod          # PostgreSQL
mysql-navigator-prod         # MySQL

Storage

stnavigatordata001           # Storage account (no hyphens, max 24 chars)
dlsnavigatorprod             # Data Lake Storage (no hyphens)
share-config                 # File share

Management and Governance

rg-navigator-prod            # Resource group
log-navigator-prod           # Log Analytics workspace
appi-navigator-prod          # Application Insights
kv-navigator-prod            # Key Vault
id-navigator-prod-001        # Managed identity

AI and Machine Learning

srch-navigator-prod          # AI Search
oai-navigator-prod           # Azure OpenAI
mlw-navigator-prod           # ML workspace

Integration

apim-navigator-prod          # API Management
sbns-navigator-prod          # Service Bus namespace
sbq-orders                   # Service Bus queue
logic-payments-prod          # Logic app

IaC Integration

When generating Terraform, Bicep, or ARM templates, apply these conventions to all resource names. Use variables/parameters for workload, environment, and region components:

Terraform:

locals {
  name_prefix = "${var.workload}-${var.environment}"
}

resource "azurerm_resource_group" "main" {
  name     = "rg-${local.name_prefix}"
  location = var.location
}

Bicep:

param workload string
param environment string

var namePrefix = '${workload}-${environment}'

resource rg 'Microsoft.Resources/resourceGroups@2024-03-01' = {
  name: 'rg-${namePrefix}'
  location: deployment().location
}