backup encryption questions

jrandall77

Perhaps I've missed it, but I'm finding scant documentation on backup encryption. Questions:

1. I'm presuming this encryption is outside the encryption mechanism used by SQL Server. True?
2. What are the requirements and restrictions for the password used to encrypt backups? Is there a maximum password length? Are there restrictions on characters that can be used?
3. When I create a job to restore an encrypted backup, is the password visible in the job step?

Thanks

Dan B

Hi jrandall77,

1. Yes, the encryption is separate to any encryption SQL Server would do.
2. The only characters that can't be used in the password are square brackets, [ ]. There is no documented password length, I have tested with a 75 character password and this worked fine.
3. Yes, the password is visible. You can edit the job to use a password stored in a plain text field as per this link http://documentation.red-gate.com/displ ... REPASSWORD.

Please let me know if you have any further questions.