2.1 User Accounts
2.1.2 Login ID and password requirements
Login ID
For a user to login, they must have a user account that includes a Login Identification (ID) and Password. The login ID is the user's "public name." Depending on the system administrator, login IDs are usually some combination of a user's first and last names. For example, user Bob Wood's login ID might be bobw, bwood, woodb, or bw2. The login ID must be unique and is limited to eight alphanumeric characters. It can be any combination of letters (lower case only) and numbers. The administrator can add a comment with the user's full name when creating the user. The Login ID, user's full name and other information are stored in the password (/etc/passwd) file, which can be viewed by all users. User's encrypted passwords are stored in the /etc/shadow file. 

Passwords
The user's password protects their account from unauthorized access. In the Solaris computing environment, there are specific rules for creating passwords to help ensure system security: 

  • Must be SIX to EIGHT characters in length
  • Must contain at least TWO alphabetic characters (Upper or Lower Case)
  • Must contain at least ONE numeric or special character
  • Must Differ From the User's Login ID
  • Must Differ from Previous Password by THREE Characters
  • May Contain Spaces and Special Characters
  • Are Case Sensitive (Letters must be typed in as upper or lower case)

Passwords are case-sensitive meaning that they can be created with upper or lower case letters and must be entered exactly the same way when logging in. The password ABc123 is different from the password ABC123. When changing passwords, the new password must differ from the previous password by at least three characters. Passwords may contain spaces and special characters. The password "a9$B7 c5" is perfectly valid. The length is between six and eight characters. It has upper and lower case letters, numbers, a special character and a space. Note that these password rules do not apply to the administrator (root or superuser) account.