Server Naming Conventions, Revisited

Are your servers named for characters from Marvel comics? Or the Howard Stern show? Server naming schemes are being discussed today over at Slashdot, which picks up on a story over at IT World. "If you name your servers after the Seven Dwarfs, can you have any doubt that Grumpy will cause you trouble?," Slashdot notes. "Striking a balance between fun and functional is harder than it seems."

The Seven Dwarves may work for a small operation, but what about companies with tens of thousands of servers? For these companies - many of whom read Data Center Knowledge - the Seven Dwarves is not gonna cut it. How do you approach server naming conventions at scale?