password limitations in SQL Server and MySql

Question

Does MySql 5.1 and SQL Server 2008 (Web edition, Standard) have any functional password limitations other than length limits? Are metacharacters in any form a bad idea to use, like bang, pipe, hash, any slash, carrot, and so on?

I know that MySql 5.1 has a password length limitation of 16 characters that is hardcoded, but I was wondering, are any metacharacters (i.e. non alphanumerics) a bad idea to use? And is this true in SQL Server 2008 Web edition, Standard?

So specifically: can symbols like:

/`~>:}{[]^ be used successfully?

I would hope it doesn't matter to the database, but I don't understand enough about password storage in enterprise database systems yet to know for sure, and I was looking for confirmation or an explanation.

Answer 1

All these characters are good in SQL Server passwords, but the docs to back it up are sketchy.

The MSDN documentation on SQL Server password strength implies that any symbol including whitespace characters is allowed in SQL Server passwords, but if it contains white space it must be delimited in T-SQL statements.

Microsoft SQL Server passwords can contain up to 128 characters, including letters, symbols, and digits. Because logins, user names, roles, and passwords are frequently used in Transact-SQL statements, certain symbols must be enclosed by double quotation marks (") or square brackets ([ ]). Use these delimiters in Transact-SQL statements when the SQL Server login, user, role, or password has the following characteristics:

• Contains or starts with a space character.

• Starts with the $ or @ character.

The MSDN documentation on password policy explicitly confirms the following characters are allowed: ! $ # %

And, as you'd already know, the same documentation strongly encourages that you use passwords which are "as long and complex as possible."