How to fix error - not able to validate external location because the remote server returned an error: 403 forbidden

Question

Hi, im trying to create an external table in a dedicated sql pool with a parquet file but, im receiving the following error message

"Not able to validate external location because The remote server returned an error: (403) Forbidden."

i was able to use the same sql pool to create a regular table and i can query it.

i created the master encryption

created database scoped credential with identity = shared access signature & secret

creted an external data source with location = container that has the parquet file

created external file format with the format type = parquet

all that runs successfully BUT, when i try to execute CREATE EXTERNAL TABLE [table name]

it returns the message.

Any help on what im i missing or doing wrong ?

Answer 1

@ANGEL ROSSY - Thanks for the question and using MS Q&A platform.

It seems like you have done all the necessary steps to create an external table in Synapse Analytics. However, the error message you are receiving indicates that there might be an issue with the permissions.

Here are a few things you can check:

• Make sure that the SAS token you are using is valid and has the necessary permissions to access the container that has the parquet file. You can regenerate the SAS token and try again.
• Check if the firewall settings of the storage account are configured correctly. You might need to add the IP address of the Synapse Analytics workspace to the firewall rules.
• Verify that the database scoped credential you created has the correct identity and secret. Make sure that the secret is not expired.
• Check if the external data source you created has the correct location and credential. Make sure that the credential has the necessary permissions to access the storage account.

If none of the above steps work, you can try to run the following command to get more information about the error:

SELECT * FROM sys.external_data_sources WHERE name = 'your_external_data_source_name';

This will give you more details about the error and help you troubleshoot the issue.

For more details, refer to Failed with an error: "SQLServerException: Not able to validate external location because the remote server returned an error: (403)"

Hope this helps. Do let us know if you any further queries.

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