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  1. #1
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    Default Username - Max 8 letter and no number???

    Hello.

    I have a few questions:
    Why can't I add domains and choose a username for these which length is more than 8 letter and contains number?
    Is there a way to make this possible? Maybe not the number part, but at least the length of the username.
    If so, is this recommed and if no, why not?

    In advance, thanks

    Best regards
    Morten Johansen

  2. #2
    Technical Product Specialist cPanelDavidG's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by ko-kylling View Post
    Hello.

    I have a few questions:
    Why can't I add domains and choose a username for these which length is more than 8 letter and contains number?
    Is there a way to make this possible? Maybe not the number part, but at least the length of the username.
    If so, is this recommed and if no, why not?

    In advance, thanks

    Best regards
    Morten Johansen
    cPanel users are created as standard Unix users, as such the limitations of standard unix usernames apply. Some distributions support a length over 8 characters, but allowing this will break other features such as MySQL.

    However, you should be able to use a username that contains a number as long as the username does not begin with a number.

  3. #3
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    Default

    Quote Originally Posted by cPanelDavidG View Post
    cPanel users are created as standard Unix users, as such the limitations of standard unix usernames apply. Some distributions support a length over 8 characters, but allowing this will break other features such as MySQL.

    However, you should be able to use a username that contains a number as long as the username does not begin with a number.
    Thanks for the quick reply

    I only tried with a username that started with a number, so maybe it works with numbers anyway

    Why will it break MySQL if I use more than 8 letter for the username?
    I know that your competitor, Plesk, allows long usernames

  4. #4
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    Quote Originally Posted by ko-kylling View Post
    Thanks for the quick reply

    I only tried with a username that started with a number, so maybe it works with numbers anyway

    Why will it break MySQL if I use more than 8 letter for the username?
    I know that your competitor, Plesk, allows long usernames
    Same problem, 9 letters username will break the server??

  5. #5
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    Default

    As cPanelDavidG mentioned, some distros might support more than 8 character username but it can/will certainly break some services if not the entire server. Therefore it is not recommended.

    Here are a few things to be kept in mind while choosing a username :

    A username must start with a lowercase letter.
    The length of a username should be between 3 and 8 characters.
    It can consist of lowercase letters and numbers.

  6. #6
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    Default MySQL will not break.

    Quote Originally Posted by cPanelDavidG View Post
    cPanel users are created as standard Unix users, as such the limitations of standard unix usernames apply. Some distributions support a length over 8 characters, but allowing this will break other features such as MySQL.

    However, you should be able to use a username that contains a number as long as the username does not begin with a number.
    This is not the case. MySQL since v. 3.23 has been able to support up to 16 characters in a username and numbers are permitted, however they are not permitted as the first letter. It also supports usernames with -'s and .'s in the names however the database names may or may not support special characters such as %, / etc....

    If anyone has solved the 8 character limit that would be great to see the work around, as MySQL does support this...

    In a growing world and 64 bit support nearly 100% available on servers as well as desktops there's no reason we should be limited to such a small number for usernames.

  7. #7
    Technical Product Specialist cPanelDavidG's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by jhanger View Post
    This is not the case. MySQL since v. 3.23 has been able to support up to 16 characters in a username and numbers are permitted, however they are not permitted as the first letter. It also supports usernames with -'s and .'s in the names however the database names may or may not support special characters such as %, / etc....

    If anyone has solved the 8 character limit that would be great to see the work around, as MySQL does support this...

    In a growing world and 64 bit support nearly 100% available on servers as well as desktops there's no reason we should be limited to such a small number for usernames.
    Under the current system, if 16 character cPanel usernames are used, since mysql database usernames and database names begin with the username followed by _ in a cPanel/WHM environment, we have a 17 character string before the user types in their preferred name. This will create issues since MySQL only accepts 16 characters for usernames.

    We are currently working on removing the username_ requirement, but I prefer to wait until that feature is available in public builds before I comment on that further.

  8. #8
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    Are there any other limitations on a user name?
    1. 8 characters
    2. Cannot start with a number
    3. ???

    How about restricted words: cpanel, test, etc..?

  9. #9
    Technical Product Specialist cPanelDavidG's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by kmm2908 View Post
    Are there any other limitations on a user name?
    1. 8 characters
    2. Cannot start with a number
    3. ???

    How about restricted words: cpanel, test, etc..?
    Regarding "restricted words": basically, it cannot be any existing Unix user on the system. Here's a list of commonly found Unix users on a cPanel/WHM system:

    Code:
    root
    bin
    daemon
    adm
    lp
    sync
    shutdown
    halt
    mail
    news
    uucp
    operator
    games
    gopher
    ftp
    nobody
    dbus
    mailnull
    smmsp
    nscd
    vcsa
    rpc
    sshd
    rpcuser
    nfsnobody
    pcap
    rpm
    haldaemon
    cpanel
    named
    mysql
    mailman
    cpanelhorde
    cpanelphpmyadmin
    cpanelphppgadmin
    cpanelroundcube
    avahi
    avahi-autoipd
    xfs
    mx
    postgres
    clamav
    dovecot
    munin

  10. #10
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    Default

    Thanks for the reply DavidG; very comprehensive and just what I was looking for!

  11. #11
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    Default Re: Username - Max 8 letter and no number???

    I'm fairly new to using cPanel and have found the username length restriction quite frustrating. It makes creating readable usernames hard and I prefer longer ones for security. For example if a client's website is called (for example) Cantabile then the best username I can get would be cantabil (one letter short).

    I do understand the issue with it being compatible with servers, but could there not be an option to enable/disable this feature for different servers? i.e. if my server can cope with longer usernames then we can enable it? Sorry if that is a silly question! If this is something that is being added, do we have a rough timescale?

  12. #12
    cPanel Product Evangelist Infopro's Avatar
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    Default Re: Username - Max 8 letter and no number???

    For example if a client's website is called (for example) Cantabile then the best username I can get would be cantabil (one letter short).
    Personally I never use the default username suggested by cPanel when creating an account. For security reasons. I like to offer my users the option of using a unique name for their login name. Provided its 8 characters of course.

    No one sees this username nor uses this username aside from the host, the system and the end user to login with.

    I do not believe there are any plans to make changing username length an option. You are free to start a thread in the Feature Requests forum and ask for it though.

  13. #13
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    Default Re: Username - Max 8 letter and no number???

    Thanks for your reply.

    I don't use the username suggest feature either, I was just giving one example of a perfect username being 1 letter too much.

    I don't give access to cPanel for my customers as I manage all their websites for them (and they're not that technical!) so the usernames are for my benefit. Having longer usernames would make it much easier to remember them all and make them more pleasing to the eye.

    It's a shame that there are no plans for changing the username length. Perhaps I will start a thread in the feature requests forum, but not sure if many people would share my thoughts. Only one way to find out though!

    Thanks.

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