Specify Farm Security Settings

Type a passphrase to help to secure farm configuration data, and then click Next.

Although a pass phrase is similar to a password, it is usually longer to enhance security. It is used to encrypt credentials of accounts that are registered in SharePoint products, for example, the system account that you provide when you run the SharePoint Products Configuration wizard. Ensure that you remember the pass phrase, because you must use it each time you add a server to the farm.

Ensure that the passphrase meets the following criteria:

• Has at least eight characters
• Contains at least three of the following four character groups:
• English uppercase characters (A through Z)
• English lowercase characters (a through z)
• Numerals (0 through 9)
• Nonalphabetic characters (such as !, $, #, %)

You can change the passphrase after the farm has been configured by running the Set-SPPassphrase cmdlet in Windows PowerShell. By default, the new passphrase will be deployed across all servers in the farm. However, if there is a failure in the deployment of the new passphrase, you must manually update the passphrase on the individual server on which the deployment failed. Run the Set-SPPassphrase - LocalServerOnly cmdlet in Windows PowerShell to manually update the passphrase.

 Note   The Specify Farm Security Settings page is not displayed when you perform an upgrade.