subject: Domain User Account Naming Conventions [print this page] The domain user account naming convention you adopt establishes how users are identified in the domain. A consistent user account naming convention helps you and your users remember user logon names and locate them 70-270 Exam in lists. Table 7-1 summarizes some points you might want to consider in determining a domain user account naming convention for your organization.
Table 7-1 Domain User Account Naming Convention Considerations
Consideration
Selecting local user account names Selecting domain user account names
Explanation
Local user account names must be unique on the computer where you create the local user account.
The user's logon name, a distinguished name (DN), must be unique to the directory. The user's full name (also referred to as the display name or account name), a relative distinguished name (RDN), must be unique within the OU 70-270 where you create the domain user account. The user's Security Accounts Manager (SAM) name must be unique to the directory.
Determining the number of characters in user logon name
Determining characters in user logon name
Accommodating duplicate names
Identifying the type of user
Accommodating e-mail systems
User logon names can contain up to 20 uppercase or lowercase characters. Although the field accepts more than 20 characters, Windows Server 2003 recognizes only the first 20.
The following characters are invalid in user logon names if you are using pre-Microsoft Windows 2000 systems: You can use a combination of MCSE Certification special and alphanumeric characters to help uniquely identify user accounts. User logon names are not case sensitive, but Windows Server 2003 preserves the case.
If two users were named John Emory, you could use the first name and the last initial, and then add letters from the last name to differentiate the duplicate names. In this example, one user account logon name could be Johne and the other Johnem. Another possibility would be to number each user logon name for example, Johnel and Johne2.
In some organizations, it is useful to identify temporary employees by their user account. To identify temporary employees, you can use a T and a hyphen in front of the user's logon name for example, TJohne. Alternatively, use parentheses in the name for example, John Emory (Temp). Some e-mail systems might not accept certain characters, such as spaces and parentheses. These characters should not be included in user names.
