Service Abbreviations for Azure: Enhance Your Cloud Management

Effectively managing resources in Microsoft Azure, a leading cloud computing platform, often involves dealing with a vast number of services. To streamline this process and enhance clarity, adopting standardized abbreviations for services is highly recommended. This article provides a comprehensive guide to Azure service abbreviations, designed to help you optimize your cloud infrastructure management and improve team communication.

Consistent naming conventions, including the use of abbreviations, are crucial for any Azure environment. They contribute to better organization, faster identification of resources, and reduced errors. Utilizing abbreviations makes your Azure resource names shorter and easier to handle, especially when working within the constraints of naming conventions and limits.

To help you standardize your naming process, consider leveraging the Azure Naming Tool. This tool can further automate and enforce consistent naming across your Azure deployments.

Below is a detailed list of recommended abbreviations for Azure resources, categorized by service area.

AI and Machine Learning Abbreviations

Resource	Resource provider namespace	Abbreviation
AI Search	`Microsoft.Search/searchServices`	`srch`
Azure AI services	`Microsoft.CognitiveServices/accounts` (kind: `AIServices`)	`ais`
Azure AI Foundry hub	`Microsoft.MachineLearningServices/workspaces` (kind: `Hub`)	`hub`
Azure AI Foundry project	`Microsoft.MachineLearningServices/workspaces` (kind: `Project`)	`proj`
Azure AI Video Indexer	`Microsoft.VideoIndexer/accounts`	`avi`
Azure Machine Learning workspace	`Microsoft.MachineLearningServices/workspaces`	`mlw`
Azure OpenAI Service	`Microsoft.CognitiveServices/accounts` (kind: `OpenAI`)	`oai`
Bot service	`Microsoft.BotService/botServices` (kind: `azurebot`)	`bot`
Computer vision	`Microsoft.CognitiveServices/accounts` (kind: `ComputerVision`)	`cv`
Content moderator	`Microsoft.CognitiveServices/accounts` (kind: `ContentModerator`)	`cm`
Content safety	`Microsoft.CognitiveServices/accounts` (kind: `ContentSafety`)	`cs`
Custom vision (prediction)	`Microsoft.CognitiveServices/accounts` (kind: `CustomVision.Prediction`)	`cstv`
Custom vision (training)	`Microsoft.CognitiveServices/accounts` (kind: `CustomVision.Training`)	`cstvt`
Document intelligence	`Microsoft.CognitiveServices/accounts` (kind: `FormRecognizer`)	`di`
Face API	`Microsoft.CognitiveServices/accounts` (kind: `Face`)	`face`
Health Insights	`Microsoft.CognitiveServices/accounts` (kind: `HealthInsights`)	`hi`
Immersive reader	`Microsoft.CognitiveServices/accounts` (kind: `ImmersiveReader`)	`ir`
Language service	`Microsoft.CognitiveServices/accounts` (kind: `TextAnalytics`)	`lang`
Speech service	`Microsoft.CognitiveServices/accounts` (kind: `SpeechServices`)	`spch`
Translator	`Microsoft.CognitiveServices/accounts` (kind: `TextTranslation`)	`trsl`

Analytics and IoT Abbreviations

Resource	Resource provider namespace	Abbreviation
Azure Analysis Services server	`Microsoft.AnalysisServices/servers`	`as`
Azure Databricks workspace	`Microsoft.Databricks/workspaces`	`dbw`
Azure Data Explorer cluster	`Microsoft.Kusto/clusters`	`dec`
Azure Data Explorer cluster database	`Microsoft.Kusto/clusters/databases`	`dedb`
Azure Data Factory	`Microsoft.DataFactory/factories`	`adf`
Azure Digital Twin instance	`Microsoft.DigitalTwins/digitalTwinsInstances`	`dt`
Azure Stream Analytics	`Microsoft.StreamAnalytics/cluster`	`asa`
Azure Synapse Analytics private link hub	`Microsoft.Synapse/privateLinkHubs`	`synplh`
Azure Synapse Analytics SQL Dedicated Pool	`Microsoft.Synapse/workspaces/sqlPools`	`syndp`
Azure Synapse Analytics Spark Pool	`Microsoft.Synapse/workspaces/bigDataPools`	`synsp`
Azure Synapse Analytics workspaces	`Microsoft.Synapse/workspaces`	`synw`
Data Lake Store account	`Microsoft.DataLakeStore/accounts`	`dls`
Data Lake Analytics account	`Microsoft.DataLakeAnalytics/accounts`	`dla`
Event Hubs namespace	`Microsoft.EventHub/namespaces`	`evhns`
Event hub	`Microsoft.EventHub/namespaces/eventHubs`	`evh`
Event Grid domain	`Microsoft.EventGrid/domains`	`evgd`
Event Grid subscriptions	`Microsoft.EventGrid/eventSubscriptions`	`evgs`
Event Grid topic	`Microsoft.EventGrid/domains/topics`	`evgt`
Event Grid system topic	`Microsoft.EventGrid/systemTopics`	`egst`
HDInsight – Hadoop cluster	`Microsoft.HDInsight/clusters`	`hadoop`
HDInsight – HBase cluster	`Microsoft.HDInsight/clusters`	`hbase`
HDInsight – Kafka cluster	`Microsoft.HDInsight/clusters`	`kafka`
HDInsight – Spark cluster	`Microsoft.HDInsight/clusters`	`spark`
HDInsight – Storm cluster	`Microsoft.HDInsight/clusters`	`storm`
HDInsight – ML Services cluster	`Microsoft.HDInsight/clusters`	`mls`
IoT hub	`Microsoft.Devices/IotHubs`	`iot`
Provisioning services	`Microsoft.Devices/provisioningServices`	`provs`
Provisioning services certificate	`Microsoft.Devices/provisioningServices/certificates`	`pcert`
Power BI Embedded	`Microsoft.PowerBIDedicated/capacities`	`pbi`
Time Series Insights environment	`Microsoft.TimeSeriesInsights/environments`	`tsi`

Compute and Web Abbreviations

Resource	Resource provider namespace	Abbreviation
App Service environment	`Microsoft.Web/hostingEnvironments`	`ase`
App Service plan	`Microsoft.Web/serverFarms`	`asp`
Azure Load Testing instance	`Microsoft.LoadTestService/loadTests`	`lt`
Availability set	`Microsoft.Compute/availabilitySets`	`avail`
Azure Arc enabled server	`Microsoft.HybridCompute/machines`	`arcs`
Azure Arc enabled Kubernetes cluster	`Microsoft.Kubernetes/connectedClusters`	`arck`
Azure Arc private link scope	`Microsoft.HybridCompute/privateLinkScopes`	`pls`
Azure Arc gateway	`Microsoft.HybridCompute/gateways`	`arcgw`
Batch accounts	`Microsoft.Batch/batchAccounts`	`ba`
Cloud service	`Microsoft.Compute/cloudServices`	`cld`
Communication Services	`Microsoft.Communication/communicationServices`	`acs`
Disk encryption set	`Microsoft.Compute/diskEncryptionSets`	`des`
Function app	`Microsoft.Web/sites`	`func`
Gallery	`Microsoft.Compute/galleries`	`gal`
Hosting environment	`Microsoft.Web/hostingEnvironments`	`host`
Image template	`Microsoft.VirtualMachineImages/imageTemplates`	`it`
Managed disk (OS)	`Microsoft.Compute/disks`	`osdisk`
Managed disk (data)	`Microsoft.Compute/disks`	`disk`
Notification Hubs	`Microsoft.NotificationHubs/namespaces/notificationHubs`	`ntf`
Notification Hubs namespace	`Microsoft.NotificationHubs/namespaces`	`ntfns`
Proximity placement group	`Microsoft.Compute/proximityPlacementGroups`	`ppg`
Restore point collection	`Microsoft.Compute/restorePointCollections`	`rpc`
Snapshot	`Microsoft.Compute/snapshots`	`snap`
Static web app	`Microsoft.Web/staticSites`	`stapp`
Virtual machine	`Microsoft.Compute/virtualMachines`	`vm`
Virtual machine scale set	`Microsoft.Compute/virtualMachineScaleSets`	`vmss`
Virtual machine maintenance configuration	`Microsoft.Maintenance/maintenanceConfigurations`	`mc`
VM storage account	`Microsoft.Storage/storageAccounts`	`stvm`
Web app	`Microsoft.Web/sites`	`app`

Containers Abbreviations

Resource	Resource provider namespace	Abbreviation
AKS cluster	`Microsoft.ContainerService/managedClusters`	`aks`
AKS system node pool	`Microsoft.ContainerService/managedClusters/agentPools` (mode: `System`)	`npsystem`
AKS user node pool	`Microsoft.ContainerService/managedClusters/agentPools` (mode: `User`)	`np`
Container apps	`Microsoft.App/containerApps`	`ca`
Container apps environment	`Microsoft.App/managedEnvironments`	`cae`
Container registry	`Microsoft.ContainerRegistry/registries`	`cr`
Container instance	`Microsoft.ContainerInstance/containerGroups`	`ci`
Service Fabric cluster	`Microsoft.ServiceFabric/clusters`	`sf`
Service Fabric managed cluster	`Microsoft.ServiceFabric/managedClusters`	`sfmc`

Databases Abbreviations

Resource	Resource provider namespace	Abbreviation
Azure Cosmos DB database	`Microsoft.DocumentDB/databaseAccounts/sqlDatabases`	`cosmos`
Azure Cosmos DB for Apache Cassandra account	`Microsoft.DocumentDB/databaseAccounts`	`coscas`
Azure Cosmos DB for MongoDB account	`Microsoft.DocumentDB/databaseAccounts`	`cosmon`
Azure Cosmos DB for NoSQL account	`Microsoft.DocumentDb/databaseAccounts`	`cosno`
Azure Cosmos DB for Table account	`Microsoft.DocumentDb/databaseAccounts`	`costab`
Azure Cosmos DB for Apache Gremlin account	`Microsoft.DocumentDb/databaseAccounts`	`cosgrm`
Azure Cosmos DB PostgreSQL cluster	`Microsoft.DBforPostgreSQL/serverGroupsv2`	`cospos`
Azure Cache for Redis instance	`Microsoft.Cache/Redis`	`redis`
Azure SQL Database server	`Microsoft.Sql/servers`	`sql`
Azure SQL database	`Microsoft.Sql/servers/databases`	`sqldb`
Azure SQL Elastic Job agent	`Microsoft.Sql/servers/jobAgents`	`sqlja`
Azure SQL Elastic Pool	`Microsoft.Sql/servers/elasticpool`	`sqlep`
MariaDB server	`Microsoft.DBforMariaDB/servers`	`maria`
MariaDB database	`Microsoft.DBforMariaDB/servers/databases`	`mariadb`
MySQL database	`Microsoft.DBforMySQL/servers`	`mysql`
PostgreSQL database	`Microsoft.DBforPostgreSQL/servers`	`psql`
SQL Server Stretch Database	`Microsoft.Sql/servers/databases`	`sqlstrdb`
SQL Managed Instance	`Microsoft.Sql/managedInstances`	`sqlmi`

Developer tools Abbreviations

Resource	Resource provider namespace	Abbreviation
App Configuration store	`Microsoft.AppConfiguration/configurationStores`	`appcs`
Maps account	`Microsoft.Maps/accounts`	`map`
SignalR	`Microsoft.SignalRService/SignalR`	`sigr`
WebPubSub	`Microsoft.SignalRService/webPubSub`	`wps`

DevOps Abbreviations

Resource	Resource provider namespace	Abbreviation
Azure Managed Grafana	`Microsoft.Dashboard/grafana`	`amg`

Integration Abbreviations

Resource	Resource provider namespace	Abbreviation
API management service instance	`Microsoft.ApiManagement/service`	`apim`
Integration account	`Microsoft.Logic/integrationAccounts`	`ia`
Logic app	`Microsoft.Logic/workflows`	`logic`
Service Bus namespace	`Microsoft.ServiceBus/namespaces`	`sbns`
Service Bus queue	`Microsoft.ServiceBus/namespaces/queues`	`sbq`
Service Bus topic	`Microsoft.ServiceBus/namespaces/topics`	`sbt`
Service Bus topic subscription	`Microsoft.ServiceBus/namespaces/topics/subscriptions`	`sbts`

Management and Governance Abbreviations

Resource	Resource provider namespace	Abbreviation
Automation account	`Microsoft.Automation/automationAccounts`	`aa`
Azure Policy definition	`Microsoft.Authorization/policyDefinitions`	descriptive>
Application Insights	`Microsoft.Insights/components`	`appi`
Azure Monitor action group	`Microsoft.Insights/actionGroups`	`ag`
Azure Monitor data collection rule	`Microsoft.Insights/dataCollectionRules`	`dcr`
Azure Monitor alert processing rule	`Microsoft.AlertsManagement/actionRules`	`apr`
Blueprint (planned for deprecation)	`Microsoft.Blueprint/blueprints`	`bp`
Blueprint assignment (planned for deprecation)	`Microsoft.Blueprint/blueprints/artifacts`	`bpa`
Data collection endpoint	`Microsoft.Insights/dataCollectionEndpoints`	`dce`
Log Analytics workspace	`Microsoft.OperationalInsights/workspaces`	`log`
Log Analytics query packs	`Microsoft.OperationalInsights/querypacks`	`pack`
Management group	`Microsoft.Management/managementGroups`	`mg`
Microsoft Purview instance	`Microsoft.Purview/accounts`	`pview`
Resource group	`Microsoft.Resources/resourceGroups`	`rg`
Template specs name	`Microsoft.Resources/templateSpecs`	`ts`

Migration Abbreviations

Resource	Resource provider namespace	Abbreviation
Azure Migrate project	`Microsoft.Migrate/assessmentProjects`	`migr`
Database Migration Service instance	`Microsoft.DataMigration/services`	`dms`
Recovery Services vault	`Microsoft.RecoveryServices/vaults`	`rsv`

Networking Abbreviations

Resource	Resource provider namespace	Abbreviation
Application gateway	`Microsoft.Network/applicationGateways`	`agw`
Application security group (ASG)	`Microsoft.Network/applicationSecurityGroups`	`asg`
CDN profile	`Microsoft.Cdn/profiles`	`cdnp`
CDN endpoint	`Microsoft.Cdn/profiles/endpoints`	`cdne`
Connections	`Microsoft.Network/connections`	`con`
DNS	`Microsoft.Network/dnsZones`	DNS domain name>
DNS forwarding ruleset	`Microsoft.Network/dnsForwardingRulesets`	`dnsfrs`
DNS private resolver	`Microsoft.Network/dnsResolvers`	`dnspr`
DNS private resolver inbound endpoint	`Microsoft.Network/dnsResolvers/inboundEndpoints`	`in`
DNS private resolver outbound endpoint	`Microsoft.Network/dnsResolvers/outboundEndpoints`	`out`
DNS zone	`Microsoft.Network/privateDnsZones`	DNS domain name>
Firewall	`Microsoft.Network/azureFirewalls`	`afw`
Firewall policy	`Microsoft.Network/firewallPolicies`	`afwp`
ExpressRoute circuit	`Microsoft.Network/expressRouteCircuits`	`erc`
ExpressRoute direct	`Microsoft.Network/expressRoutePorts`	`erd`
ExpressRoute gateway	`Microsoft.Network/virtualNetworkGateways`	`ergw`
Front Door (Standard/Premium) profile	`Microsoft.Cdn/profiles`	`afd`
Front Door (Standard/Premium) endpoint	`Microsoft.Cdn/profiles/afdEndpoints`	`fde`
Front Door firewall policy	`Microsoft.Network/frontdoorWebApplicationFirewallPolicies`	`fdfp`
Front Door (classic)	`Microsoft.Network/frontDoors`	`afd`
IP group	`Microsoft.Network/ipGroups`	`ipg`
Load balancer (internal)	`Microsoft.Network/loadBalancers`	`lbi`
Load balancer (external)	`Microsoft.Network/loadBalancers`	`lbe`
Load balancer rule	`Microsoft.Network/loadBalancers/inboundNatRules`	`rule`
Local network gateway	`Microsoft.Network/localNetworkGateways`	`lgw`
NAT gateway	`Microsoft.Network/natGateways`	`ng`
Network interface (NIC)	`Microsoft.Network/networkInterfaces`	`nic`
Network security group (NSG)	`Microsoft.Network/networkSecurityGroups`	`nsg`
Network security group (NSG) security rules	`Microsoft.Network/networkSecurityGroups/securityRules`	`nsgsr`
Network Watcher	`Microsoft.Network/networkWatchers`	`nw`
Private Link	`Microsoft.Network/privateLinkServices`	`pl`
Private endpoint	`Microsoft.Network/privateEndpoints`	`pep`
Public IP address	`Microsoft.Network/publicIPAddresses`	`pip`
Public IP address prefix	`Microsoft.Network/publicIPPrefixes`	`ippre`
Route filter	`Microsoft.Network/routeFilters`	`rf`
Route server	`Microsoft.Network/virtualHubs`	`rtserv`
Route table	`Microsoft.Network/routeTables`	`rt`
Service endpoint policy	`Microsoft.serviceEndPointPolicies`	`se`
Traffic Manager profile	`Microsoft.Network/trafficManagerProfiles`	`traf`
User defined route (UDR)	`Microsoft.Network/routeTables/routes`	`udr`
Virtual network	`Microsoft.Network/virtualNetworks`	`vnet`
Virtual network gateway	`Microsoft.Network/virtualNetworkGateways`	`vgw`
Virtual network manager	`Microsoft.Network/networkManagers`	`vnm`
Virtual network peering	`Microsoft.Network/virtualNetworks/virtualNetworkPeerings`	`peer`
Virtual network subnet	`Microsoft.Network/virtualNetworks/subnets`	`snet`
Virtual WAN	`Microsoft.Network/virtualWans`	`vwan`
Virtual WAN Hub	`Microsoft.Network/virtualHubs`	`vhub`

Security Abbreviations

Resource	Resource provider namespace	Abbreviation
Azure Bastion	`Microsoft.Network/bastionHosts`	`bas`
Key vault	`Microsoft.KeyVault/vaults`	`kv`
Key Vault Managed HSM	`Microsoft.KeyVault/managedHSMs`	`kvmhsm`
Managed identity	`Microsoft.ManagedIdentity/userAssignedIdentities`	`id`
SSH key	`Microsoft.Compute/sshPublicKeys`	`sshkey`
VPN Gateway	`Microsoft.Network/vpnGateways`	`vpng`
VPN connection	`Microsoft.Network/vpnGateways/vpnConnections`	`vcn`
VPN site	`Microsoft.Network/vpnGateways/vpnSites`	`vst`
Web Application Firewall (WAF) policy	`Microsoft.Network/firewallPolicies`	`waf`
Web Application Firewall (WAF) policy rule group	`Microsoft.Network/firewallPolicies/ruleGroups`	`wafrg`

Storage Abbreviations

Resource	Resource provider namespace	Abbreviation
Azure StorSimple	`Microsoft.StorSimple/managers`	`ssimp`
Backup Vault name	`Microsoft.DataProtection/backupVaults`	`bvault`
Backup Vault policy	`Microsoft.DataProtection/backupVaults/backupPolicies`	`bkpol`
File share	`Microsoft.Storage/storageAccounts/fileServices/shares`	`share`
Storage account	`Microsoft.Storage/storageAccounts`	`st`
Storage Sync Service name	`Microsoft.StorageSync/storageSyncServices`	`sss`

Virtual Desktop Infrastructure Abbreviations

Resource	Resource provider namespace	Abbreviation
Virtual desktop host pool	`Microsoft.DesktopVirtualization/hostPools`	`vdpool`
Virtual desktop application group	`Microsoft.DesktopVirtualization/applicationGroups`	`vdag`
Virtual desktop workspace	`Microsoft.DesktopVirtualization/workspaces`	`vdws`
Virtual desktop scaling plan	`Microsoft.DesktopVirtualization/scalingPlans`	`vdscaling`

Conclusion

Adopting these abbreviation recommendations for Azure services will significantly contribute to a more organized, efficient, and less error-prone cloud management experience. By using these standard abbreviations, you ensure consistency across your Azure resources, simplify communication within your teams, and streamline your overall cloud operations. Remember to consider these recommendations as a starting point and adapt them to best fit your organization’s specific needs and naming conventions. For further standardization and automation, explore the Azure Naming Tool to solidify your Azure naming strategy.