Root Password

The root user has complete privileges to configure the Services Router, and manage files in the router's file system. Initially, the root password is not defined on the router. To ensure basic security, you must define the root password during initial configuration. If a root password is not defined, you cannot commit configuration settings to take effect on the router.

If you use a plain-text password, the router displays the password as a encrypted string so that users viewing the configuration cannot easily see the password.

The root password must meet the following conditions:

• The password must be at least 6 characters long.
• You can include most character classes in a password (alphabetic, numeric, and special characters), except control characters.
• Valid passwords must contain at least one change of case or character class.

For Common Criteria environments only, the password must be between 10 and 20 characters long and must include at least three of the five character classes (uppercase letters, lowercase letters, punctuation marks, numbers, and other special characters). Control characters are not recommended. For more information, see the Secure Configuration Guide for Common Criteria and JUNOS-FIPS.