Microsoft KB Archive/318396

= Password Length Limitations for SMS Service Accounts =

Article ID: 318396

Article Last Modified on 10/27/2006

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APPLIES TO


 * Microsoft Systems Management Server 2.0 Standard Edition

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This article was previously published under Q318396



SUMMARY
It is a good idea to limit the length of passwords for accounts that are used by Systems Management Server (SMS) to 14 characters, even though Microsoft Windows NT-based domain and local accounts can use very long passwords (in some cases, up to 256 characters). Using passwords that are not longer than 14 characters is a good idea because:
 * SMS may try to encrypt the password, but SMS cannot encrypt passwords that are longer than 14 characters.
 * The Password box in the SMS Administrator console is limited to 14 characters.



MORE INFORMATION
These SMS service accounts have a 14-character limit for the password:
 * The SMS Service account
 * The Windows NT Client Software Installation account
 * The Sender Address account
 * The SMS Client Remote Installation account
 * The Client Connection account
 * The Site System Connection Account

You can specify passwords of up to 36 characters for the SMS service accounts during SMS Setup. However, using more than 14 characters in a password causes problems after the SMS components begin operations. The symptoms of these problems may include account lockouts, SMS components that cannot access resources, and account authorization errors.

Keywords: kbenv kbinfo KB318396

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