Scripting the Computer Name
- Scripting the Computer Name
- Generating a Computer Name with Script
- Listing of COMPNAME.VBS
In many deployments, companies use the BIOS service tag or asset tag as part of the naming algorithm. Unfortunately, the out-of-the-box naming mechanisms don't provide for this type of naming standard. To work around the limited options, Windows 2000 deployment expert Jeffrey Ferris shares a script that he developed to extend the computer-naming mechanism.
One of the limitations of the out-of-the-box unattended installation process is the incapability to easily extend the computer-naming mechanism. With the exception of a RIS-based install, there are only two options for naming a computer via an unattended installation script. The first is to give the computer a static name, which means that you'll need a separate answer file for every unique computer name. The second option, which is more useful if you're trying to use a single answer file for multiple installs, generates a random 15-character computer name based on the organization name under which Windows 2000 is registered.
To illustrate the second option, look at the following excerpt from a Windows 2000 unattended installation file:
[UserData] FullName="Information Systems" OrgName="ABC Corporation" computername="*" productid=xxxxx-xxxxx-xxxxx-xxxxx-xxxxx
In this example, the computer name will be ABC-xxxxxxxxxxx, where each x is a randomly generated letter or number.
Computer Names with RIS
With a RIS-based installation, you can set up the naming standards based on one of five variables:
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%First, the user's first name
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%Last, the user's last name
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%Username, the user's logon name
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%MAC, the MAC address of the first recognized network interface card
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%#, an autoincrementing number
These variables can be combined and mixed with static text. For example, you could set the computer name standard for a RIS image for notebook users as the following:
PORT-%Username%#
For user Joe Sales with the login of jsales, the computer name for the first image that Joe downloads using RIS would be this:
PORT-JSALES1