From the Manual:
The limit of twelve characters was deliberately fixed to ensure a compatibility with Windows 9x hosts. You can modify the maximum length by associating the value wanted with the variables maxIbayNameLength, maxAcctNameLength and maxGroupNameLength. When no value is specified, twelve is used by default.
For example, to authorize a fifteen-character maximum length for i-bay names, type the command:
'/sbin/e-smith/db configuration set maxAcctNameLength 15'
'/sbin/e-smith/signal-event console-save'