SQL SERVER – PolyBase Error Msg 46530 – External Data Sources Are Not Supported With Type GENERIC

While trying to try PolyBase on my laptop, I was getting an error. When I looked further, the solution was so different and the error message has no relation to it. In this blog, I would share my findings of error Msg 46530 – External data sources are not supported with type GENERIC.

Here is the query which I was executing:

CREATE EXTERNAL DATA SOURCE BigPinalSQLExternalData
WITH (
LOCATION = 'sqlserver://BigPinal:1433',
PUSHDOWN = ON,
CREDENTIAL = RemoteCredentials
); 

and the error message was

Msg 46530, Level 16, State 11, Line 1
External data sources are not supported with type GENERIC.

Below is the screenshot.

WORKAROUND/SOLUTION – External Data Sources

Based on my internet search, I found that the error message appears when you don’t have a PolyBase feature installed or it is not enabled via sp_configure.

To check if the feature is installed, you can use below T-SQL.

SELECT SERVERPROPERTY ('IsPolyBaseInstalled') AS IsPolyBaseInstalled; 

If you get zero as output, then the feature is not installed at all. The next step is to install the feature using setup.exe. Here is the feature which you need.

If you get the output as one (1) then you need to enable PolyBase using sp_configrure.

exec sp_configure @configname = 'polybase enabled', @configvalue = 1;
RECONFIGURE;

If the feature is not installed and try running above would cause this error

Msg 46923, Level 16, State 1, Procedure sp_configure, Line 166 [Batch Start Line 8]
PolyBase feature is not installed. Please consult Books Online for more information on this feature.

The command would run successfully when the feature is installed.

Did this blog help you in fixing the issue? If yes, please comment and let me know.

Here is the updated list for March 2020 of all the tools which I recommend. Do let me know if you use any of the above tools: SQL SERVER Tools I Use and Recommend (Updated: March 2020).

Reference: Pinal Dave (https://blog.sqlauthority.com)

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