1)Only lowercase lettering and numbers can be used in usernames and passwords (no symblos or uppercase)
Alphanumeric usernames are required, yes, however if you're seeing any such limitations on the password, they must be being enforced by sctrans2. We don't have any such requirements within Centova Cast.
2)Username and password must be a minimum of 4 characters long
Centova Cast enforces a username length of at least 4 characters. There's no guesswork here -- you'll get an explicit username error in the web interface (and the DJ account won't be created) if you try to use a shorter username.
As for the password there is no minimum in Centova Cast, although there may be in sctrans2. But if you're using anything shorter than 4 characters you're asking for trouble anyway.
3)Username and password may not be the same
I would take this for granted, but this is not something we enforce in Centova Cast.
4)You must stop and then start the server after creating a DJ account for it to become active
For use in Centova Cast, no, it's immediately active and usable.
If you're using sctrans2 and want to let the DJ source the stream with his new DJ account, then yes, sctrans2 requires a restart to recognize any configuration file changes, including addition of DJs.
Maybe someone could shed some light on the process for me - as it seems it is very hit or miss on if a DJ can log in after the account is created. Sometimes it means deleting it and starting again, etc.
It would be helpful if you clarified what you mean by "log in". Remember that the designed purpose of DJ accounts in Centova Cast is to let the DJ log in to the Centova Cast web interface and perform various tasks there.
sctrans2 *happens* to also support multiple usernames/passwords for live broadcasts, so when you're using sctrans2, Centova Cast also sets up the DJ's account in sctrans2 in this manner as an extra feature.
So when you say "it's hit or miss on if a DJ can log in", we need to know if you're talking about logging in to Centova Cast, or sourcing a sctrans2-based stream. And we also need to know exactly WHY the DJ can't login -- presumably he's getting an error of some sort, but without knowing that error, we're basically stumbling around in the dark here trying to help you.
I have a sysadmin background, so I gave all my DJs superstrong passwords, but I guess that's not an option here...
There is no such limitation enforced in Centova Cast -- we always encourage users to use passwords that are as complex as possible. It's possible that sctrans2 has additional requirements in this regard, but honestly I couldn't tell you for sure as it's not documented by Nullsoft.
The lack of documentation regarding the set up of DJ accounts and the stipulations is alarming. Unless Im just not finding that.
There is a high-level overview in our administrator's guide as well as detailed information in our administrator's reference manual.
Note that anything specific to sctrans2 is not documented in our manuals because we are the makers of Centova Cast, not sctrans2. For sctrans2 documentation, you'd want to use Nullsoft's support resources (including the
SHOUTcast DNAS Transcoder 2 Wiki). We are not affiliated with Nullsoft and their products are not a part of Centova Cast.
Hope that helps.