---
sourceDocument: Australia Telecommunications Network Inventory
sourceDocumentLink: https://servicenow-prod.fluidtopics.net/r/telecom-network-inventory

 Release :

    - australia

ft:locale :

    - en-US

ft:publication_title :

    - Australia Telecommunications Network Inventory

ft:clusterId :

    - telninv

bundleId :

    - telninv

workflow :

    - Customer and Industry


---

# Inventory template name generation

# Inventory template name generation {#ariaid-title1}

Release version: Australia  
Updated September 10, 2026  
![](https://www.servicenow.com/docs/portal-asset/ico-clock) 1 minute to read  
When you instantiate an inventory template, each related template in the hierarchy produces a CI (configuration item). The CI's name comes from one of two sources, depending on whether the related template defines a naming
pattern.

## Two sources for a CI name {#how-inventory-template-names-are-generated__two-sources-for-ci-name}

How a related template's CI gets its name depends on the related template's type:

* Slot, sub-slot, and interface related templates all require a Name Pattern field. The pattern must resolve to a non-empty string; you cannot save the template without a valid pattern. When the template creates a CI, the system evaluates the pattern as a JavaScript expression. The resulting string is set to the CI name.
* Card and module related templates don't include a Name Pattern field. When the template creates a CI, the system automatically builds the CI name from two values: the site name and the inventory model name. The name follows this format: `<site name>/<model name>`.

## How a Name Pattern resolves to a name {#how-inventory-template-names-are-generated__how-name-pattern-resolves}

A naming pattern is a JavaScript expression that returns a string. Three syntactic forms cover the patterns used in inventory templates:

A literal concatenated with a variable
:

        "Slot -"+position


A variable transformed with string methods
:

        parent_slot_name.replace("Slot-","Slot/").replace("Slot/","Ge")


A ternary expression used to choose between alternatives
:

        position <2 ? "Tx" : "Rx"


These forms can be combined into longer patterns. When a related template is evaluated, the system reads the variables from the related template's context, executes the expression, and uses the resulting string as the CI name.

For an interface at position 1 whose parent slot is named `Slot-6/1`, the following composed pattern resolves to `Ge6/1 (Tx)`.

    parent_slot_name.replace("Slot-","Slot/").replace("Slot/","Ge")+" (" + (position <2 ? "Tx" : "Rx") + ")"

**Related concepts**   

* [Inventory template naming patterns](https://servicenow-prod.fluidtopics.net/Ur7JKaJYvarOaFuXVjwhTg "A naming pattern is a JavaScript expression that defines how a configuration item (CI) is named when it is created from an inventory template.")
* [Model and template naming](https://servicenow-prod.fluidtopics.net/ZPkPs1KenjM8EmkrF~5xSQ "The equipment model establishes default naming patterns for CIs (configuration items). Inventory templates inherit those patterns and can override them per related template.")
* [Name pattern validation](https://servicenow-prod.fluidtopics.net/F3MseOUzi5mOeZu7IW4e_A "Name pattern validation runs twice. It runs at save time to prevent errors. And it runs when the Overview tab loads the hierarchy to catch issues specific to template relationships.")