SharePoint 2010 + SQL 2008 + DPM 2012 Backup Failures

Question

I have a single SharePoint 2010 WFE and a SQL 2008 server backend. Since configuring DPM to run the SharePoint backup through the WFE, I have had no success with backups.
DPM Reports:
The VSS application writer or the VSS provider is in a bad state. Either it was already in a bad state or it entered a bad state during the current operation. (ID 30111 Details: VssError: The writer experienced a non-transient error. If the backup process
is retried, the error is likely to reoccur. (0x800423F4))
Event Log on SQL Server Reports:
Log Name:      Application
Source:        SQLWRITER
Date:          4/24/2014 4:44:17 PM
Event ID:      24583
Task Category: None
Level:         Error
Keywords:      Classic
User:          N/A
Computer:      srv-sql-01
Description:
Sqllib error: OLEDB Error encountered calling ICommandText::Execute. hr = 0x80040e14. SQLSTATE: 42000, Native Error: 319
Error state: 1, Severity: 15
Source: Microsoft SQL Server Native Client 10.0
Error message: Incorrect syntax near the keyword 'with'. If this statement is a common table expression, an xmlnamespaces clause or a change tracking context clause, the previous statement must be terminated with a semicolon.
SQLSTATE: 42000, Native Error: 103
Error state: 3, Severity: 15
Source: Microsoft SQL Server Native Client 10.0
Error message: The file that starts with '\\?\GLOBALROOT\Device\HarddiskVolumeShadowCopy334\Program Files\Microsoft SQL Server\MSSQL10_50.MSSQLSERVER\MSSQL\DATA\WSS_Content30_1.mdf                                                                                                                                                                       
' is too long. Maximum length is 259.
Event Xml:
<Event xmlns="http://schemas.microsoft.com/win/2004/08/events/event">
  <System>
    <Provider Name="SQLWRITER" />
    <EventID Qualifiers="0">24583</EventID>
    <Level>2</Level>
    <Task>0</Task>
    <Keywords>0x80000000000000</Keywords>
    <TimeCreated SystemTime="2014-04-24T21:44:17.000000000Z" />
    <EventRecordID>293470</EventRecordID>
    <Channel>Application</Channel>
    <Computer>srv-sql-01</Computer>
    <Security />
  </System>
  <EventData>
    <Data>ICommandText::Execute</Data>
    <Data>0x80040e14</Data>
    <Data>SQLSTATE: 42000, Native Error: 319
Error state: 1, Severity: 15
Source: Microsoft SQL Server Native Client 10.0
Error message: Incorrect syntax near the keyword 'with'. If this statement is a common table expression, an xmlnamespaces clause or a change tracking context clause, the previous statement must be terminated with a semicolon.
SQLSTATE: 42000, Native Error: 103
Error state: 3, Severity: 15
Source: Microsoft SQL Server Native Client 10.0
Error message: The file that starts with '\\?\GLOBALROOT\Device\HarddiskVolumeShadowCopy334\Program Files\Microsoft SQL Server\MSSQL10_50.MSSQLSERVER\MSSQL\DATA\WSS_Content30_1.mdf                                                                                                                                                                       
' is too long. Maximum length is 259.
</Data>
    <Binary>53514C434F4E4E43313236330000000053514C434F4E4E433132323800000000</Binary>
  </EventData>
</Event>
Followed by:
Log Name:      Application
Source:        VSS
Date:          4/24/2014 4:44:17 PM
Event ID:      8229
Task Category: None
Level:         Warning
Keywords:      Classic
User:          N/A
Computer:      srv-sql-01
Description:
A VSS writer has rejected an event with error 0x800423f4, The writer experienced a non-transient error.  If the backup process is retried,
the error is likely to reoccur.
. Changes that the writer made to the writer components while handling the event will not be available to the requester. Check the event log for related events from the application hosting the VSS writer.
Operation:
   PostSnapshot Event
Context:
   Execution Context: Writer
   Writer Class Id: {a65faa63-5ea8-4ebc-9dbd-a0c4db26912a}
   Writer Name: SqlServerWriter
   Writer Instance Name: SQL Server 2008 R2:SQLWriter
   Writer Instance ID: {18aa641d-ffcd-44be-84eb-77867e909c51}
   Command Line: "C:\Program Files\Microsoft SQL Server\90\Shared\sqlwriter.exe"
   Process ID: 6036
Event Xml:
<Event xmlns="http://schemas.microsoft.com/win/2004/08/events/event">
  <System>
    <Provider Name="VSS" />
    <EventID Qualifiers="0">8229</EventID>
    <Level>3</Level>
    <Task>0</Task>
    <Keywords>0x80000000000000</Keywords>
    <TimeCreated SystemTime="2014-04-24T21:44:17.000000000Z" />
    <EventRecordID>293471</EventRecordID>
    <Channel>Application</Channel>
    <Computer>srv-sql-01</Computer>
    <Security />
  </System>
  <EventData>
    <Data>0x800423f4, The writer experienced a non-transient error.  If the backup process is retried,
the error is likely to reoccur.
</Data>
    <Data>
Operation:
   PostSnapshot Event
Context:
   Execution Context: Writer
   Writer Class Id: {a65faa63-5ea8-4ebc-9dbd-a0c4db26912a}
   Writer Name: SqlServerWriter
   Writer Instance Name: SQL Server 2008 R2:SQLWriter
   Writer Instance ID: {18aa641d-ffcd-44be-84eb-77867e909c51}
   Command Line: "C:\Program Files\Microsoft SQL Server\90\Shared\sqlwriter.exe"
   Process ID: 6036</Data>
    <Binary>2D20436F64653A20575254575254494330303030353239392D2043616C6C3A20575254575254494330303030333336352D205049443A202030303030363033362D205449443A202030303030323630342D20434D443A202022433A5C50726F6772616D2046696C65735C4D6963726F736F66742053514C205365727665725C39305C5368617265645C73716C7772697465722E65786522202D20557365723A204E616D653A204E5420415554484F524954595C53595354454D2C205349443A532D312D352D313820</Binary>
  </EventData>
</Event>
When I run vssadmin list writers after the error, the "SqlServerWriter" show a State of [11]. I can restart the service and the error clears up showing stable, but the next time I run the backup it fails again.
From the error, it almost sounds like the path is too long. This doesn't totally make sense to me considering the database was successfully backed up before I tried to back it up as a SharePoint database.
Any suggestions would be appreciated.

Answer 1

Got the issue solved.
DPM has issues with DNS Aliases for SQL.
To get this issue sorted out i used the old HOSTS file to point the right name to the right SQL server.