diff --git a/agents.tf b/agents.tf
index 6732d30..b7f45cc 100644
--- a/agents.tf
+++ b/agents.tf
@@ -3,7 +3,7 @@ module "agents" {
 
   for_each = local.agent_nodepools
 
-  name                   = "${var.use_cluster_name_in_node_name ? "${random_pet.cluster.id}-" : ""}${each.value.nodepool_name}"
+  name                   = "${var.use_cluster_name_in_node_name ? "${var.cluster_name}-" : ""}${each.value.nodepool_name}"
   ssh_keys               = [hcloud_ssh_key.k3s.id]
   public_key             = var.public_key
   private_key            = var.private_key
diff --git a/control_planes.tf b/control_planes.tf
index a8957aa..fee3bb2 100644
--- a/control_planes.tf
+++ b/control_planes.tf
@@ -2,7 +2,7 @@ module "control_planes" {
   source = "./modules/host"
 
   count                  = var.control_plane_count
-  name                   = "${var.use_cluster_name_in_node_name ? "${random_pet.cluster.id}-" : ""}control-plane"
+  name                   = "${var.use_cluster_name_in_node_name ? "${var.cluster_name}-" : ""}control-plane"
   ssh_keys               = [hcloud_ssh_key.k3s.id]
   public_key             = var.public_key
   private_key            = var.private_key
diff --git a/init.tf b/init.tf
index e07bc45..4b64e15 100644
--- a/init.tf
+++ b/init.tf
@@ -94,7 +94,7 @@ resource "null_resource" "kustomization" {
     content = local.is_single_node_cluster ? "" : templatefile(
       "${path.module}/templates/traefik_config.yaml.tpl",
       {
-        name                       = "${random_pet.cluster.id}-traefik"
+        name                       = "${var.cluster_name}-traefik"
         load_balancer_disable_ipv6 = var.load_balancer_disable_ipv6
         load_balancer_type         = var.load_balancer_type
         location                   = var.location
diff --git a/main.tf b/main.tf
index ff61cbd..0db3b0d 100644
--- a/main.tf
+++ b/main.tf
@@ -1,21 +1,24 @@
-resource "random_pet" "cluster" {
-  length = 1
-  prefix = var.cluster_prefix
-}
-
 resource "random_password" "k3s_token" {
   length  = 48
   special = false
 }
 
 resource "hcloud_ssh_key" "k3s" {
-  name       = random_pet.cluster.id
+  name       = var.cluster_name
   public_key = local.ssh_public_key
 }
 
 resource "hcloud_network" "k3s" {
-  name     = random_pet.cluster.id
-  ip_range = local.network_ipv4_cidr
+  name     = var.cluster_name
+  ip_range = var.network_ipv4_range
+}
+
+# This is the default subnet to be used by the load balancer.
+resource "hcloud_network_subnet" "default" {
+  network_id   = hcloud_network.k3s.id
+  type         = "cloud"
+  network_zone = var.network_region
+  ip_range     = "10.0.0.0/16"
 }
 
 resource "hcloud_network_subnet" "subnet" {
@@ -27,7 +30,7 @@ resource "hcloud_network_subnet" "subnet" {
 }
 
 resource "hcloud_firewall" "k3s" {
-  name = random_pet.cluster.id
+  name = var.cluster_name
 
   dynamic "rule" {
     for_each = concat(local.base_firewall_rules, var.extra_firewall_rules)
@@ -42,7 +45,7 @@ resource "hcloud_firewall" "k3s" {
 }
 
 resource "hcloud_placement_group" "k3s" {
-  name = random_pet.cluster.id
+  name = var.cluster_name
   type = "spread"
   labels = {
     "provisioner" = "terraform",
@@ -52,7 +55,7 @@ resource "hcloud_placement_group" "k3s" {
 
 data "hcloud_load_balancer" "traefik" {
   count = local.is_single_node_cluster ? 0 : 1
-  name  = "${random_pet.cluster.id}-traefik"
+  name  = "${var.cluster_name}-traefik"
 
   depends_on = [null_resource.kustomization]
 }
diff --git a/modules/host/locals.tf b/modules/host/locals.tf
index 46e0f81..4edc40e 100644
--- a/modules/host/locals.tf
+++ b/modules/host/locals.tf
@@ -12,5 +12,5 @@ locals {
   ssh_args = "-o UserKnownHostsFile=/dev/null -o StrictHostKeyChecking=no -i ${local.ssh_identity_file}"
 
   # the hosts name with its unique suffix attached
-  name = "${var.name}-${random_pet.server.id}"
+  name = "${var.name}-${random_string.server.id}"
 }
diff --git a/modules/host/main.tf b/modules/host/main.tf
index a4de8c6..70b2aaa 100644
--- a/modules/host/main.tf
+++ b/modules/host/main.tf
@@ -1,5 +1,10 @@
-resource "random_pet" "server" {
-  length = 1
+resource "random_string" "server" {
+  length  = 3
+  lower   = true
+  special = false
+  number  = false
+  upper   = false
+
   keepers = {
     # We re-create the id (and server) whenever one of those attributes
     # changes. This should include all input variables to this module,
diff --git a/output.tf b/output.tf
index 9337e1d..e0089fd 100644
--- a/output.tf
+++ b/output.tf
@@ -1,5 +1,5 @@
 output "cluster_name" {
-  value       = random_pet.cluster.id
+  value       = var.cluster_name
   description = "Shared suffix for all resources belonging to this cluster."
 }
 
diff --git a/terraform.tfvars.example b/terraform.tfvars.example
index b7310ad..7d31c13 100644
--- a/terraform.tfvars.example
+++ b/terraform.tfvars.example
@@ -67,11 +67,11 @@ load_balancer_type        = "lb11"
 # Allows you to specify either stable, latest, or testing (defaults to stable), see https://rancher.com/docs/k3s/latest/en/upgrades/basic/
 # initial_k3s_channel = "latest"
 
-# Whether to use the cluster name in the node name, i.e. add the prefix k3s-(cluster_name)- to the nodes? The default is "true".
+# Whether to use the cluster name in the node name, the default is "true".
 # use_cluster_name_in_node_name = false
 
-# Prefix for the cluster name, by default "k3s"
-# cluster_prefix = ""
+# The cluster name, by default "k3s"
+# cluster_name = ""
 
 # Adding extra firewall rules, like opening a port
 # In this example with allow port TCP 5432 for a Postgres service we will open via a nodeport
diff --git a/variables.tf b/variables.tf
index 3460697..825f198 100644
--- a/variables.tf
+++ b/variables.tf
@@ -116,10 +116,15 @@ variable "use_cluster_name_in_node_name" {
   description = "Whether to use the cluster name in the node name"
 }
 
-variable "cluster_prefix" {
+variable "cluster_name" {
   type        = string
   default     = "k3s"
-  description = "Prefix for the cluster name"
+  description = "Name of the cluster"
+
+  validation {
+    condition     = can(regex("^[a-z1-9\\-]+$", var.cluster_name))
+    error_message = "The cluster name must be in the form of lowercase alphanumeric characters and/or dashes."
+  }
 }
 
 variable "traefik_additional_options" {