diff --git a/asterixdb/asterix-app/pom.xml b/asterixdb/asterix-app/pom.xml
index 219595b..e3702a6 100644
--- a/asterixdb/asterix-app/pom.xml
+++ b/asterixdb/asterix-app/pom.xml
@@ -703,22 +703,18 @@
     <dependency>
       <groupId>software.amazon.awssdk</groupId>
       <artifactId>sdk-core</artifactId>
-      <scope>test</scope>
     </dependency>
     <dependency>
       <groupId>software.amazon.awssdk</groupId>
       <artifactId>s3</artifactId>
-      <scope>test</scope>
     </dependency>
     <dependency>
       <groupId>software.amazon.awssdk</groupId>
       <artifactId>regions</artifactId>
-      <scope>test</scope>
     </dependency>
     <dependency>
       <groupId>software.amazon.awssdk</groupId>
       <artifactId>auth</artifactId>
-      <scope>test</scope>
     </dependency>
     <!-- Mock for AWS S3 -->
     <dependency>
diff --git a/asterixdb/asterix-app/src/main/java/org/apache/asterix/app/translator/QueryTranslator.java b/asterixdb/asterix-app/src/main/java/org/apache/asterix/app/translator/QueryTranslator.java
index 0f540ff..ed3eb8b 100644
--- a/asterixdb/asterix-app/src/main/java/org/apache/asterix/app/translator/QueryTranslator.java
+++ b/asterixdb/asterix-app/src/main/java/org/apache/asterix/app/translator/QueryTranslator.java
@@ -18,8 +18,6 @@
  */
 package org.apache.asterix.app.translator;
 
-import static org.apache.asterix.common.exceptions.ErrorCode.UNKNOWN_DATAVERSE;
-
 import java.io.File;
 import java.io.FileInputStream;
 import java.io.InputStream;
@@ -637,7 +635,7 @@
                 throw new CompilationException(ErrorCode.UNKNOWN_DATAVERSE, sourceLoc, dataverseName);
             }
 
-            IDatasetDetails datasetDetails = null;
+            IDatasetDetails datasetDetails;
             Dataset ds = metadataProvider.findDataset(dataverseName, datasetName);
             if (ds != null) {
                 if (dd.getIfNotExists()) {
@@ -738,7 +736,7 @@
                             createExternalDatasetProperties(dataverseName, dd, metadataProvider, mdTxnCtx);
                     ExternalDataUtils.normalize(properties);
                     ExternalDataUtils.validate(properties);
-                    validateExternalDatasetProperties(externalDetails, properties, dd.getSourceLocation());
+                    validateExternalDatasetProperties(externalDetails, properties, dd.getSourceLocation(), mdTxnCtx);
                     datasetDetails = new ExternalDatasetDetails(externalDetails.getAdapter(), properties, new Date(),
                             TransactionState.COMMIT);
                     break;
@@ -3236,12 +3234,26 @@
     }
 
     protected void validateExternalDatasetProperties(ExternalDetailsDecl externalDetails,
-            Map<String, String> properties, SourceLocation srcLoc) throws CompilationException {
+            Map<String, String> properties, SourceLocation srcLoc, MetadataTransactionContext mdTxnCtx)
+            throws AlgebricksException, HyracksDataException {
         String adapter = externalDetails.getAdapter();
         // "format" parameter is needed for "S3" data source
         if (ExternalDataConstants.KEY_ADAPTER_NAME_AWS_S3.equals(adapter)
                 && properties.get(ExternalDataConstants.KEY_FORMAT) == null) {
             throw new CompilationException(ErrorCode.PARAMETERS_REQUIRED, srcLoc, ExternalDataConstants.KEY_FORMAT);
         }
+
+        Map<String, String> details = new HashMap<>(properties);
+        details.put(ExternalDataConstants.KEY_EXTERNAL_SOURCE_TYPE, adapter);
+        validateExternalSourceContainer(details);
+    }
+
+    /**
+     * Ensures that the external source container is present
+     *
+     * @param configuration external source properties
+     */
+    protected void validateExternalSourceContainer(Map<String, String> configuration) throws CompilationException {
+        ExternalDataUtils.validateExternalSourceContainer(configuration);
     }
 }
diff --git a/asterixdb/asterix-app/src/test/resources/runtimets/queries_sqlpp/external-dataset/aws/s3/bucket-does-not-exist/test.000.ddl.sqlpp b/asterixdb/asterix-app/src/test/resources/runtimets/queries_sqlpp/external-dataset/aws/s3/bucket-does-not-exist/test.000.ddl.sqlpp
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..b174162
--- /dev/null
+++ b/asterixdb/asterix-app/src/test/resources/runtimets/queries_sqlpp/external-dataset/aws/s3/bucket-does-not-exist/test.000.ddl.sqlpp
@@ -0,0 +1,37 @@
+/*
+ * Licensed to the Apache Software Foundation (ASF) under one
+ * or more contributor license agreements.  See the NOTICE file
+ * distributed with this work for additional information
+ * regarding copyright ownership.  The ASF licenses this file
+ * to you under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the
+ * "License"); you may not use this file except in compliance
+ * with the License.  You may obtain a copy of the License at
+ *
+ *   http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0
+ *
+ * Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing,
+ * software distributed under the License is distributed on an
+ * "AS IS" BASIS, WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY
+ * KIND, either express or implied.  See the License for the
+ * specific language governing permissions and limitations
+ * under the License.
+ */
+
+drop dataverse test if exists;
+create dataverse test;
+use test;
+
+drop type test if exists;
+create type test as open {
+};
+
+drop dataset test if exists;
+create external dataset test(test) using S3 (
+("accessKeyId"="dummyAccessKey"),
+("secretAccessKey"="dummySecretKey"),
+("region"="us-west-2"),
+("serviceEndpoint"="http://localhost:8001"),
+("container"="bucket-does-not-exist"),
+("definition"="over-1000-objects"),
+("format"="json")
+);
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/asterixdb/asterix-app/src/test/resources/runtimets/queries_sqlpp/external-dataset/aws/s3/bucket-does-not-exist/test.099.ddl.sqlpp b/asterixdb/asterix-app/src/test/resources/runtimets/queries_sqlpp/external-dataset/aws/s3/bucket-does-not-exist/test.099.ddl.sqlpp
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..548e632
--- /dev/null
+++ b/asterixdb/asterix-app/src/test/resources/runtimets/queries_sqlpp/external-dataset/aws/s3/bucket-does-not-exist/test.099.ddl.sqlpp
@@ -0,0 +1,20 @@
+/*
+ * Licensed to the Apache Software Foundation (ASF) under one
+ * or more contributor license agreements.  See the NOTICE file
+ * distributed with this work for additional information
+ * regarding copyright ownership.  The ASF licenses this file
+ * to you under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the
+ * "License"); you may not use this file except in compliance
+ * with the License.  You may obtain a copy of the License at
+ *
+ *   http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0
+ *
+ * Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing,
+ * software distributed under the License is distributed on an
+ * "AS IS" BASIS, WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY
+ * KIND, either express or implied.  See the License for the
+ * specific language governing permissions and limitations
+ * under the License.
+ */
+
+drop dataverse test if exists;
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/asterixdb/asterix-app/src/test/resources/runtimets/queries_sqlpp/external-dataset/aws/s3/definition-does-not-exist/test.000.ddl.sqlpp b/asterixdb/asterix-app/src/test/resources/runtimets/queries_sqlpp/external-dataset/aws/s3/definition-does-not-exist/test.000.ddl.sqlpp
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..7a86e69
--- /dev/null
+++ b/asterixdb/asterix-app/src/test/resources/runtimets/queries_sqlpp/external-dataset/aws/s3/definition-does-not-exist/test.000.ddl.sqlpp
@@ -0,0 +1,37 @@
+/*
+ * Licensed to the Apache Software Foundation (ASF) under one
+ * or more contributor license agreements.  See the NOTICE file
+ * distributed with this work for additional information
+ * regarding copyright ownership.  The ASF licenses this file
+ * to you under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the
+ * "License"); you may not use this file except in compliance
+ * with the License.  You may obtain a copy of the License at
+ *
+ *   http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0
+ *
+ * Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing,
+ * software distributed under the License is distributed on an
+ * "AS IS" BASIS, WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY
+ * KIND, either express or implied.  See the License for the
+ * specific language governing permissions and limitations
+ * under the License.
+ */
+
+drop dataverse test if exists;
+create dataverse test;
+use test;
+
+drop type test if exists;
+create type test as open {
+};
+
+drop dataset test if exists;
+create external dataset test(test) using S3 (
+("accessKeyId"="dummyAccessKey"),
+("secretAccessKey"="dummySecretKey"),
+("region"="us-west-2"),
+("serviceEndpoint"="http://localhost:8001"),
+("container"="playground"),
+("definition"="definition-does-not-exist"),
+("format"="json")
+);
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/asterixdb/asterix-app/src/test/resources/runtimets/queries_sqlpp/external-dataset/aws/s3/definition-does-not-exist/test.001.query.sqlpp b/asterixdb/asterix-app/src/test/resources/runtimets/queries_sqlpp/external-dataset/aws/s3/definition-does-not-exist/test.001.query.sqlpp
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..affdb87
--- /dev/null
+++ b/asterixdb/asterix-app/src/test/resources/runtimets/queries_sqlpp/external-dataset/aws/s3/definition-does-not-exist/test.001.query.sqlpp
@@ -0,0 +1,22 @@
+/*
+ * Licensed to the Apache Software Foundation (ASF) under one
+ * or more contributor license agreements.  See the NOTICE file
+ * distributed with this work for additional information
+ * regarding copyright ownership.  The ASF licenses this file
+ * to you under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the
+ * "License"); you may not use this file except in compliance
+ * with the License.  You may obtain a copy of the License at
+ *
+ *   http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0
+ *
+ * Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing,
+ * software distributed under the License is distributed on an
+ * "AS IS" BASIS, WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY
+ * KIND, either express or implied.  See the License for the
+ * specific language governing permissions and limitations
+ * under the License.
+ */
+
+use test;
+
+select count(*) `count` from test;
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/asterixdb/asterix-app/src/test/resources/runtimets/queries_sqlpp/external-dataset/aws/s3/definition-does-not-exist/test.099.ddl.sqlpp b/asterixdb/asterix-app/src/test/resources/runtimets/queries_sqlpp/external-dataset/aws/s3/definition-does-not-exist/test.099.ddl.sqlpp
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..548e632
--- /dev/null
+++ b/asterixdb/asterix-app/src/test/resources/runtimets/queries_sqlpp/external-dataset/aws/s3/definition-does-not-exist/test.099.ddl.sqlpp
@@ -0,0 +1,20 @@
+/*
+ * Licensed to the Apache Software Foundation (ASF) under one
+ * or more contributor license agreements.  See the NOTICE file
+ * distributed with this work for additional information
+ * regarding copyright ownership.  The ASF licenses this file
+ * to you under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the
+ * "License"); you may not use this file except in compliance
+ * with the License.  You may obtain a copy of the License at
+ *
+ *   http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0
+ *
+ * Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing,
+ * software distributed under the License is distributed on an
+ * "AS IS" BASIS, WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY
+ * KIND, either express or implied.  See the License for the
+ * specific language governing permissions and limitations
+ * under the License.
+ */
+
+drop dataverse test if exists;
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/asterixdb/asterix-app/src/test/resources/runtimets/queries_sqlpp/external-dataset/aws/s3/invalid-endpoint/test.000.ddl.sqlpp b/asterixdb/asterix-app/src/test/resources/runtimets/queries_sqlpp/external-dataset/aws/s3/invalid-endpoint/test.000.ddl.sqlpp
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..da2b945
--- /dev/null
+++ b/asterixdb/asterix-app/src/test/resources/runtimets/queries_sqlpp/external-dataset/aws/s3/invalid-endpoint/test.000.ddl.sqlpp
@@ -0,0 +1,37 @@
+/*
+ * Licensed to the Apache Software Foundation (ASF) under one
+ * or more contributor license agreements.  See the NOTICE file
+ * distributed with this work for additional information
+ * regarding copyright ownership.  The ASF licenses this file
+ * to you under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the
+ * "License"); you may not use this file except in compliance
+ * with the License.  You may obtain a copy of the License at
+ *
+ *   http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0
+ *
+ * Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing,
+ * software distributed under the License is distributed on an
+ * "AS IS" BASIS, WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY
+ * KIND, either express or implied.  See the License for the
+ * specific language governing permissions and limitations
+ * under the License.
+ */
+
+drop dataverse test if exists;
+create dataverse test;
+use test;
+
+drop type test if exists;
+create type test as open {
+};
+
+drop dataset test if exists;
+create external dataset test(test) using S3 (
+("accessKeyId"="dummyAccessKey"),
+("secretAccessKey"="dummySecretKey"),
+("region"="us-west-2"),
+("serviceEndpoint"="^invalid-endpoint^"),
+("container"="bucket-does-not-exist"),
+("definition"="over-1000-objects"),
+("format"="json")
+);
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/asterixdb/asterix-app/src/test/resources/runtimets/queries_sqlpp/external-dataset/aws/s3/invalid-endpoint/test.099.ddl.sqlpp b/asterixdb/asterix-app/src/test/resources/runtimets/queries_sqlpp/external-dataset/aws/s3/invalid-endpoint/test.099.ddl.sqlpp
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..548e632
--- /dev/null
+++ b/asterixdb/asterix-app/src/test/resources/runtimets/queries_sqlpp/external-dataset/aws/s3/invalid-endpoint/test.099.ddl.sqlpp
@@ -0,0 +1,20 @@
+/*
+ * Licensed to the Apache Software Foundation (ASF) under one
+ * or more contributor license agreements.  See the NOTICE file
+ * distributed with this work for additional information
+ * regarding copyright ownership.  The ASF licenses this file
+ * to you under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the
+ * "License"); you may not use this file except in compliance
+ * with the License.  You may obtain a copy of the License at
+ *
+ *   http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0
+ *
+ * Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing,
+ * software distributed under the License is distributed on an
+ * "AS IS" BASIS, WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY
+ * KIND, either express or implied.  See the License for the
+ * specific language governing permissions and limitations
+ * under the License.
+ */
+
+drop dataverse test if exists;
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/asterixdb/asterix-app/src/test/resources/runtimets/results/external-dataset/aws/s3/definition-does-not-exist/result.001.adm b/asterixdb/asterix-app/src/test/resources/runtimets/results/external-dataset/aws/s3/definition-does-not-exist/result.001.adm
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..c1a0ea2
--- /dev/null
+++ b/asterixdb/asterix-app/src/test/resources/runtimets/results/external-dataset/aws/s3/definition-does-not-exist/result.001.adm
@@ -0,0 +1 @@
+{ "count": 0 }
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/asterixdb/asterix-app/src/test/resources/runtimets/testsuite_external_dataset.xml b/asterixdb/asterix-app/src/test/resources/runtimets/testsuite_external_dataset.xml
index b0346f8..7c1aa48 100644
--- a/asterixdb/asterix-app/src/test/resources/runtimets/testsuite_external_dataset.xml
+++ b/asterixdb/asterix-app/src/test/resources/runtimets/testsuite_external_dataset.xml
@@ -82,5 +82,22 @@
         <expected-error>Parsing error at malformed-data/malformed-jsonl-2.json line 11 field array_f: Unexpected character (']' (code 93)): expected a valid value (JSON String, Number, Array, Object or token 'null', 'true' or 'false')</expected-error>
       </compilation-unit>
     </test-case>
+    <test-case FilePath="external-dataset">
+      <compilation-unit name="aws/s3/definition-does-not-exist">
+        <output-dir compare="Text">aws/s3/definition-does-not-exist</output-dir>
+      </compilation-unit>
+    </test-case>
+    <test-case FilePath="external-dataset">
+      <compilation-unit name="aws/s3/invalid-endpoint">
+        <output-dir compare="Text">aws/s3/invalid-endpoint</output-dir>
+        <expected-error>External source error. Invalid service endpoint ^invalid-endpoint^</expected-error>
+      </compilation-unit>
+    </test-case>
+    <test-case FilePath="external-dataset">
+      <compilation-unit name="aws/s3/bucket-does-not-exist">
+        <output-dir compare="Text">aws/s3/bucket-does-not-exist</output-dir>
+        <expected-error>External source error. The specified bucket does not exist (Service: S3, Status Code: 404, Request ID: null)</expected-error>
+      </compilation-unit>
+    </test-case>
   </test-group>
 </test-suite>
diff --git a/asterixdb/asterix-common/src/main/java/org/apache/asterix/common/exceptions/ErrorCode.java b/asterixdb/asterix-common/src/main/java/org/apache/asterix/common/exceptions/ErrorCode.java
index 37043b2..6496c94 100644
--- a/asterixdb/asterix-common/src/main/java/org/apache/asterix/common/exceptions/ErrorCode.java
+++ b/asterixdb/asterix-common/src/main/java/org/apache/asterix/common/exceptions/ErrorCode.java
@@ -196,6 +196,8 @@
     public static final int OPERATION_NOT_SUPPORTED_ON_PRIMARY_INDEX = 1105;
     public static final int EXPECTED_CONSTANT_VALUE = 1106;
     public static final int UNEXPECTED_HINT = 1107;
+    public static final int EXTERNAL_SOURCE_ERROR = 1108;
+    public static final int EXTERNAL_SOURCE_CONTAINER_NOT_FOUND = 1109;
 
     // Feed errors
     public static final int DATAFLOW_ILLEGAL_STATE = 3001;
diff --git a/asterixdb/asterix-common/src/main/resources/asx_errormsg/en.properties b/asterixdb/asterix-common/src/main/resources/asx_errormsg/en.properties
index d3a2215..7e75a51 100644
--- a/asterixdb/asterix-common/src/main/resources/asx_errormsg/en.properties
+++ b/asterixdb/asterix-common/src/main/resources/asx_errormsg/en.properties
@@ -191,6 +191,8 @@
 1105 = Operation not supported on primary index %1$s
 1106 = Expected constant value
 1107 = Unexpected hint: %1$s. %2$s expected at this location
+1108 = External source error. %1$s
+1109 = External source container %1$s not found
 
 # Feed Errors
 3001 = Illegal state.
diff --git a/asterixdb/asterix-external-data/pom.xml b/asterixdb/asterix-external-data/pom.xml
index 30e7770..8270d71 100644
--- a/asterixdb/asterix-external-data/pom.xml
+++ b/asterixdb/asterix-external-data/pom.xml
@@ -437,6 +437,14 @@
     </dependency>
     <dependency>
       <groupId>software.amazon.awssdk</groupId>
+      <artifactId>http-client-spi</artifactId>
+    </dependency>
+    <dependency>
+      <groupId>software.amazon.awssdk</groupId>
+      <artifactId>sdk-core</artifactId>
+    </dependency>
+    <dependency>
+      <groupId>software.amazon.awssdk</groupId>
       <artifactId>s3</artifactId>
     </dependency>
     <dependency>
diff --git a/asterixdb/asterix-external-data/src/main/java/org/apache/asterix/external/input/record/reader/aws/AwsS3InputStream.java b/asterixdb/asterix-external-data/src/main/java/org/apache/asterix/external/input/record/reader/aws/AwsS3InputStream.java
index 448d3f5..bcbf540 100644
--- a/asterixdb/asterix-external-data/src/main/java/org/apache/asterix/external/input/record/reader/aws/AwsS3InputStream.java
+++ b/asterixdb/asterix-external-data/src/main/java/org/apache/asterix/external/input/record/reader/aws/AwsS3InputStream.java
@@ -18,23 +18,24 @@
  */
 package org.apache.asterix.external.input.record.reader.aws;
 
-import static org.apache.asterix.external.util.ExternalDataConstants.AwsS3Constants;
+import static org.apache.asterix.external.util.ExternalDataConstants.AwsS3;
 
 import java.io.IOException;
-import java.net.URI;
 import java.util.List;
 import java.util.Map;
 import java.util.zip.GZIPInputStream;
 
+import org.apache.asterix.common.exceptions.CompilationException;
+import org.apache.asterix.common.exceptions.ErrorCode;
+import org.apache.asterix.common.exceptions.RuntimeDataException;
 import org.apache.asterix.external.input.stream.AbstractMultipleInputStream;
 import org.apache.asterix.external.util.ExternalDataConstants;
+import org.apache.asterix.external.util.ExternalDataUtils;
+import org.apache.hyracks.api.exceptions.HyracksDataException;
 import org.apache.hyracks.api.util.CleanupUtils;
 
-import software.amazon.awssdk.auth.credentials.AwsBasicCredentials;
-import software.amazon.awssdk.auth.credentials.StaticCredentialsProvider;
-import software.amazon.awssdk.regions.Region;
+import software.amazon.awssdk.core.exception.SdkException;
 import software.amazon.awssdk.services.s3.S3Client;
-import software.amazon.awssdk.services.s3.S3ClientBuilder;
 import software.amazon.awssdk.services.s3.model.GetObjectRequest;
 
 public class AwsS3InputStream extends AbstractMultipleInputStream {
@@ -48,7 +49,7 @@
     private final List<String> filePaths;
     private int nextFileIndex = 0;
 
-    public AwsS3InputStream(Map<String, String> configuration, List<String> filePaths) {
+    public AwsS3InputStream(Map<String, String> configuration, List<String> filePaths) throws HyracksDataException {
         this.configuration = configuration;
         this.filePaths = filePaths;
         this.s3Client = buildAwsS3Client(configuration);
@@ -74,13 +75,17 @@
             CleanupUtils.close(in, null);
         }
 
-        String bucket = configuration.get(AwsS3Constants.CONTAINER_NAME_FIELD_NAME);
+        String bucket = configuration.get(AwsS3.CONTAINER_NAME_FIELD_NAME);
         GetObjectRequest.Builder getObjectBuilder = GetObjectRequest.builder();
         GetObjectRequest getObjectRequest = getObjectBuilder.bucket(bucket).key(filePaths.get(nextFileIndex)).build();
 
         // Have a reference to the S3 stream to ensure that if GZipInputStream causes an IOException because of reading
         // the header, then the S3 stream gets closed in the close method
-        in = s3Client.getObject(getObjectRequest);
+        try {
+            in = s3Client.getObject(getObjectRequest);
+        } catch (SdkException ex) {
+            throw new RuntimeDataException(ErrorCode.EXTERNAL_SOURCE_ERROR, ex.getMessage());
+        }
 
         // Use gzip stream if needed
         String filename = filePaths.get(nextFileIndex).toLowerCase();
@@ -96,6 +101,14 @@
         return true;
     }
 
+    private S3Client buildAwsS3Client(Map<String, String> configuration) throws HyracksDataException {
+        try {
+            return ExternalDataUtils.AwsS3.buildAwsS3Client(configuration);
+        } catch (CompilationException ex) {
+            throw HyracksDataException.create(ex);
+        }
+    }
+
     @Override
     public boolean stop() {
         return false;
@@ -126,33 +139,4 @@
     private String getStreamNameAt(int fileIndex) {
         return fileIndex < 0 || filePaths == null || filePaths.isEmpty() ? "" : filePaths.get(fileIndex);
     }
-
-    /**
-     * Prepares and builds the Amazon S3 client with the provided configuration
-     *
-     * @param configuration S3 client configuration
-     *
-     * @return Amazon S3 client
-     */
-    private static S3Client buildAwsS3Client(Map<String, String> configuration) {
-        S3ClientBuilder builder = S3Client.builder();
-
-        // Credentials
-        String accessKeyId = configuration.get(AwsS3Constants.ACCESS_KEY_ID_FIELD_NAME);
-        String secretAccessKey = configuration.get(AwsS3Constants.SECRET_ACCESS_KEY_FIELD_NAME);
-        AwsBasicCredentials credentials = AwsBasicCredentials.create(accessKeyId, secretAccessKey);
-        builder.credentialsProvider(StaticCredentialsProvider.create(credentials));
-
-        // Region
-        String region = configuration.get(AwsS3Constants.REGION_FIELD_NAME);
-        builder.region(Region.of(region));
-
-        // Use user's endpoint if provided
-        if (configuration.get(AwsS3Constants.SERVICE_END_POINT_FIELD_NAME) != null) {
-            String endPoint = configuration.get(AwsS3Constants.SERVICE_END_POINT_FIELD_NAME);
-            builder.endpointOverride(URI.create(endPoint));
-        }
-
-        return builder.build();
-    }
 }
diff --git a/asterixdb/asterix-external-data/src/main/java/org/apache/asterix/external/input/record/reader/aws/AwsS3InputStreamFactory.java b/asterixdb/asterix-external-data/src/main/java/org/apache/asterix/external/input/record/reader/aws/AwsS3InputStreamFactory.java
index 9158a57..e57b31a 100644
--- a/asterixdb/asterix-external-data/src/main/java/org/apache/asterix/external/input/record/reader/aws/AwsS3InputStreamFactory.java
+++ b/asterixdb/asterix-external-data/src/main/java/org/apache/asterix/external/input/record/reader/aws/AwsS3InputStreamFactory.java
@@ -18,30 +18,30 @@
  */
 package org.apache.asterix.external.input.record.reader.aws;
 
-import static org.apache.asterix.external.util.ExternalDataConstants.AwsS3Constants;
+import static org.apache.asterix.external.util.ExternalDataConstants.AwsS3;
 
 import java.io.Serializable;
-import java.net.URI;
 import java.util.ArrayList;
 import java.util.List;
 import java.util.Map;
 
 import org.apache.asterix.common.dataflow.ICcApplicationContext;
 import org.apache.asterix.common.exceptions.AsterixException;
+import org.apache.asterix.common.exceptions.CompilationException;
 import org.apache.asterix.common.exceptions.ErrorCode;
 import org.apache.asterix.external.api.AsterixInputStream;
 import org.apache.asterix.external.api.IInputStreamFactory;
 import org.apache.asterix.external.util.ExternalDataConstants;
+import org.apache.asterix.external.util.ExternalDataUtils;
 import org.apache.hyracks.algebricks.common.constraints.AlgebricksAbsolutePartitionConstraint;
 import org.apache.hyracks.algebricks.common.exceptions.AlgebricksException;
 import org.apache.hyracks.api.application.IServiceContext;
 import org.apache.hyracks.api.context.IHyracksTaskContext;
+import org.apache.hyracks.api.exceptions.HyracksDataException;
+import org.apache.hyracks.api.util.CleanupUtils;
 
-import software.amazon.awssdk.auth.credentials.AwsBasicCredentials;
-import software.amazon.awssdk.auth.credentials.StaticCredentialsProvider;
-import software.amazon.awssdk.regions.Region;
+import software.amazon.awssdk.core.exception.SdkException;
 import software.amazon.awssdk.services.s3.S3Client;
-import software.amazon.awssdk.services.s3.S3ClientBuilder;
 import software.amazon.awssdk.services.s3.model.ListObjectsV2Request;
 import software.amazon.awssdk.services.s3.model.ListObjectsV2Response;
 import software.amazon.awssdk.services.s3.model.S3Object;
@@ -52,7 +52,8 @@
     private Map<String, String> configuration;
 
     // Files to read from
-    private List<PartitionWorkLoadBasedOnSize> partitionWorkLoadsBasedOnSize = new ArrayList<>();
+    private final List<S3Object> filesOnly = new ArrayList<>();
+    private final List<PartitionWorkLoadBasedOnSize> partitionWorkLoadsBasedOnSize = new ArrayList<>();
 
     private transient AlgebricksAbsolutePartitionConstraint partitionConstraint;
 
@@ -67,7 +68,7 @@
     }
 
     @Override
-    public AsterixInputStream createInputStream(IHyracksTaskContext ctx, int partition) {
+    public AsterixInputStream createInputStream(IHyracksTaskContext ctx, int partition) throws HyracksDataException {
         return new AwsS3InputStream(configuration, partitionWorkLoadsBasedOnSize.get(partition).getFilePaths());
     }
 
@@ -81,51 +82,57 @@
         this.configuration = configuration;
         ICcApplicationContext ccApplicationContext = (ICcApplicationContext) ctx.getApplicationContext();
 
-        String container = configuration.get(AwsS3Constants.CONTAINER_NAME_FIELD_NAME);
+        String container = configuration.get(AwsS3.CONTAINER_NAME_FIELD_NAME);
 
-        S3Client s3Client = buildAwsS3Client(configuration);
+        S3Client s3Client = ExternalDataUtils.AwsS3.buildAwsS3Client(configuration);
 
         // Get all objects in a bucket and extract the paths to files
         ListObjectsV2Request.Builder listObjectsBuilder = ListObjectsV2Request.builder().bucket(container);
-        String path = configuration.get(AwsS3Constants.DEFINITION_FIELD_NAME);
+        String path = configuration.get(AwsS3.DEFINITION_FIELD_NAME);
         if (path != null) {
             listObjectsBuilder.prefix(path + (!path.isEmpty() && !path.endsWith("/") ? "/" : ""));
         }
 
         ListObjectsV2Response listObjectsResponse;
-        List<S3Object> s3Objects = new ArrayList<>();
         boolean done = false;
         String newMarker = null;
 
-        while (!done) {
-            // List the objects from the start, or from the last marker in case of truncated result
-            if (newMarker == null) {
-                listObjectsResponse = s3Client.listObjectsV2(listObjectsBuilder.build());
-            } else {
-                listObjectsResponse = s3Client.listObjectsV2(listObjectsBuilder.continuationToken(newMarker).build());
+        String fileFormat = configuration.get(ExternalDataConstants.KEY_FORMAT);
+
+        try {
+            while (!done) {
+                // List the objects from the start, or from the last marker in case of truncated result
+                if (newMarker == null) {
+                    listObjectsResponse = s3Client.listObjectsV2(listObjectsBuilder.build());
+                } else {
+                    listObjectsResponse =
+                            s3Client.listObjectsV2(listObjectsBuilder.continuationToken(newMarker).build());
+                }
+
+                // Collect the paths to files only
+                collectFilesOnly(listObjectsResponse.contents(), fileFormat);
+
+                // Mark the flag as done if done, otherwise, get the marker of the previous response for the next request
+                if (!listObjectsResponse.isTruncated()) {
+                    done = true;
+                } else {
+                    newMarker = listObjectsResponse.nextContinuationToken();
+                }
             }
-
-            // Collect all the provided objects
-            s3Objects.addAll(listObjectsResponse.contents());
-
-            // Mark the flag as done if done, otherwise, get the marker of the previous response for the next request
-            if (!listObjectsResponse.isTruncated()) {
-                done = true;
-            } else {
-                newMarker = listObjectsResponse.nextContinuationToken();
+        } catch (SdkException ex) {
+            throw new CompilationException(ErrorCode.EXTERNAL_SOURCE_ERROR, ex.getMessage());
+        } finally {
+            if (s3Client != null) {
+                CleanupUtils.close(s3Client, null);
             }
         }
 
-        // Exclude the directories and get the files only
-        String fileFormat = configuration.get(ExternalDataConstants.KEY_FORMAT);
-        List<S3Object> fileObjects = getFilesOnly(s3Objects, fileFormat);
-
         // Partition constraints
         partitionConstraint = ccApplicationContext.getClusterStateManager().getClusterLocations();
         int partitionsCount = partitionConstraint.getLocations().length;
 
         // Distribute work load amongst the partitions
-        distributeWorkLoad(fileObjects, partitionsCount);
+        distributeWorkLoad(filesOnly, partitionsCount);
     }
 
     /**
@@ -133,21 +140,17 @@
      * a file if it does not end up with a "/" which is the separator in a folder structure.
      *
      * @param s3Objects List of returned objects
-     *
-     * @return A list of string paths that point to files only
+     * @param fileFormat The expected file format
      *
      * @throws AsterixException AsterixException
      */
-    private List<S3Object> getFilesOnly(List<S3Object> s3Objects, String fileFormat) throws AsterixException {
-        List<S3Object> filesOnly = new ArrayList<>();
+    private void collectFilesOnly(List<S3Object> s3Objects, String fileFormat) throws AsterixException {
         String fileExtension = getFileExtension(fileFormat);
         if (fileExtension == null) {
             throw AsterixException.create(ErrorCode.PROVIDER_STREAM_RECORD_READER_UNKNOWN_FORMAT, fileFormat);
         }
 
         s3Objects.stream().filter(object -> isValidFile(object.key(), fileFormat)).forEach(filesOnly::add);
-
-        return filesOnly;
     }
 
     /**
@@ -214,35 +217,6 @@
     }
 
     /**
-     * Prepares and builds the Amazon S3 client with the provided configuration
-     *
-     * @param configuration S3 client configuration
-     *
-     * @return Amazon S3 client
-     */
-    private static S3Client buildAwsS3Client(Map<String, String> configuration) {
-        S3ClientBuilder builder = S3Client.builder();
-
-        // Credentials
-        String accessKeyId = configuration.get(AwsS3Constants.ACCESS_KEY_ID_FIELD_NAME);
-        String secretAccessKey = configuration.get(AwsS3Constants.SECRET_ACCESS_KEY_FIELD_NAME);
-        AwsBasicCredentials credentials = AwsBasicCredentials.create(accessKeyId, secretAccessKey);
-        builder.credentialsProvider(StaticCredentialsProvider.create(credentials));
-
-        // Region
-        String region = configuration.get(AwsS3Constants.REGION_FIELD_NAME);
-        builder.region(Region.of(region));
-
-        // Use user's endpoint if provided
-        if (configuration.get(AwsS3Constants.SERVICE_END_POINT_FIELD_NAME) != null) {
-            String endPoint = configuration.get(AwsS3Constants.SERVICE_END_POINT_FIELD_NAME);
-            builder.endpointOverride(URI.create(endPoint));
-        }
-
-        return builder.build();
-    }
-
-    /**
      * Returns the file extension for the provided file format.
      *
      * @param format file format
diff --git a/asterixdb/asterix-external-data/src/main/java/org/apache/asterix/external/util/ExternalDataConstants.java b/asterixdb/asterix-external-data/src/main/java/org/apache/asterix/external/util/ExternalDataConstants.java
index 63f57b6..e93c3b9 100644
--- a/asterixdb/asterix-external-data/src/main/java/org/apache/asterix/external/util/ExternalDataConstants.java
+++ b/asterixdb/asterix-external-data/src/main/java/org/apache/asterix/external/util/ExternalDataConstants.java
@@ -82,7 +82,7 @@
     public static final String KEY_WAIT_FOR_DATA = "wait-for-data";
     public static final String KEY_FEED_NAME = "feed";
     // a string representing external bucket name
-    public static final String KEY_BUCKET = "bucket";
+    public static final String KEY_EXTERNAL_SOURCE_TYPE = "type";
     // a comma delimited list of nodes
     public static final String KEY_NODES = "nodes";
     // a string representing the password used to authenticate with the external data source
@@ -276,8 +276,9 @@
     public static final String EMPTY_FIELD = "empty value";
     public static final String INVALID_VAL = "invalid value";
 
-    public static class AwsS3Constants {
-        private AwsS3Constants() {
+    public static class AwsS3 {
+        private AwsS3() {
+            throw new AssertionError("do not instantiate");
         }
 
         public static final String REGION_FIELD_NAME = "region";
diff --git a/asterixdb/asterix-external-data/src/main/java/org/apache/asterix/external/util/ExternalDataUtils.java b/asterixdb/asterix-external-data/src/main/java/org/apache/asterix/external/util/ExternalDataUtils.java
index 2ae2838..1501287 100644
--- a/asterixdb/asterix-external-data/src/main/java/org/apache/asterix/external/util/ExternalDataUtils.java
+++ b/asterixdb/asterix-external-data/src/main/java/org/apache/asterix/external/util/ExternalDataUtils.java
@@ -24,10 +24,15 @@
 import static org.apache.asterix.external.util.ExternalDataConstants.KEY_RECORD_END;
 import static org.apache.asterix.external.util.ExternalDataConstants.KEY_RECORD_START;
 
+import java.net.URI;
+import java.net.URISyntaxException;
 import java.util.EnumMap;
+import java.util.List;
 import java.util.Map;
+import java.util.Optional;
 
 import org.apache.asterix.common.exceptions.AsterixException;
+import org.apache.asterix.common.exceptions.CompilationException;
 import org.apache.asterix.common.exceptions.ErrorCode;
 import org.apache.asterix.common.exceptions.RuntimeDataException;
 import org.apache.asterix.common.library.ILibraryManager;
@@ -40,6 +45,7 @@
 import org.apache.asterix.om.types.AUnionType;
 import org.apache.hyracks.algebricks.common.exceptions.NotImplementedException;
 import org.apache.hyracks.api.exceptions.HyracksDataException;
+import org.apache.hyracks.api.util.CleanupUtils;
 import org.apache.hyracks.dataflow.common.data.parsers.BooleanParserFactory;
 import org.apache.hyracks.dataflow.common.data.parsers.DoubleParserFactory;
 import org.apache.hyracks.dataflow.common.data.parsers.FloatParserFactory;
@@ -48,6 +54,15 @@
 import org.apache.hyracks.dataflow.common.data.parsers.LongParserFactory;
 import org.apache.hyracks.dataflow.common.data.parsers.UTF8StringParserFactory;
 
+import software.amazon.awssdk.auth.credentials.AwsBasicCredentials;
+import software.amazon.awssdk.auth.credentials.StaticCredentialsProvider;
+import software.amazon.awssdk.core.exception.SdkException;
+import software.amazon.awssdk.regions.Region;
+import software.amazon.awssdk.services.s3.S3Client;
+import software.amazon.awssdk.services.s3.S3ClientBuilder;
+import software.amazon.awssdk.services.s3.model.ListObjectsV2Request;
+import software.amazon.awssdk.services.s3.model.ListObjectsV2Response;
+
 public class ExternalDataUtils {
 
     private static final Map<ATypeTag, IValueParserFactory> valueParserFactoryMap = new EnumMap<>(ATypeTag.class);
@@ -436,4 +451,101 @@
             configuration.put(key, paramValue.toLowerCase().trim());
         }
     }
+
+    /**
+     * Ensures that the external source container is present
+     *
+     * @param configuration external source properties
+     */
+    public static void validateExternalSourceContainer(Map<String, String> configuration) throws CompilationException {
+        String type = configuration.get(ExternalDataConstants.KEY_EXTERNAL_SOURCE_TYPE);
+
+        switch (type) {
+            case ExternalDataConstants.KEY_ADAPTER_NAME_AWS_S3:
+                ExternalDataUtils.AwsS3.validateExternalSourceContainer(configuration);
+                break;
+            default:
+                // Nothing needs to be done
+                break;
+        }
+    }
+
+    public static class AwsS3 {
+        private AwsS3() {
+            throw new AssertionError("do not instantiate");
+        }
+
+        public static S3Client buildAwsS3Client(Map<String, String> configuration) throws CompilationException {
+            // TODO(Hussain): Need to ensure that all required parameters are present in a previous step
+            String accessKeyId = configuration.get(ExternalDataConstants.AwsS3.ACCESS_KEY_ID_FIELD_NAME);
+            String secretAccessKey = configuration.get(ExternalDataConstants.AwsS3.SECRET_ACCESS_KEY_FIELD_NAME);
+            String regionId = configuration.get(ExternalDataConstants.AwsS3.REGION_FIELD_NAME);
+            String serviceEndpoint = configuration.get(ExternalDataConstants.AwsS3.SERVICE_END_POINT_FIELD_NAME);
+
+            S3ClientBuilder builder = S3Client.builder();
+
+            // Credentials
+            AwsBasicCredentials credentials = AwsBasicCredentials.create(accessKeyId, secretAccessKey);
+            builder.credentialsProvider(StaticCredentialsProvider.create(credentials));
+
+            // Validate the region
+            List<Region> supportedRegions = S3Client.serviceMetadata().regions();
+            Optional<Region> selectedRegion =
+                    supportedRegions.stream().filter(region -> region.id().equalsIgnoreCase(regionId)).findFirst();
+
+            if (!selectedRegion.isPresent()) {
+                throw new CompilationException(ErrorCode.EXTERNAL_SOURCE_ERROR,
+                        String.format("region %s is not supported", regionId));
+            }
+            builder.region(selectedRegion.get());
+
+            // Validate the service endpoint if present
+            if (serviceEndpoint != null) {
+                try {
+                    URI uri = new URI(serviceEndpoint);
+                    try {
+                        builder.endpointOverride(uri);
+                    } catch (NullPointerException ex) {
+                        throw new CompilationException(ErrorCode.EXTERNAL_SOURCE_ERROR, ex.getMessage());
+                    }
+                } catch (URISyntaxException ex) {
+                    throw new CompilationException(ErrorCode.EXTERNAL_SOURCE_ERROR,
+                            String.format("Invalid service endpoint %s", serviceEndpoint));
+                }
+            }
+
+            return builder.build();
+        }
+
+        /**
+         * Validates if the container being used is available or not.
+         *
+         * @param configuration external datasource configuration
+         *
+         * @throws CompilationException Compilation exception
+         */
+        public static void validateExternalSourceContainer(Map<String, String> configuration)
+                throws CompilationException {
+            S3Client s3Client = null;
+
+            try {
+                String container = configuration.get(ExternalDataConstants.AwsS3.CONTAINER_NAME_FIELD_NAME);
+                s3Client = buildAwsS3Client(configuration);
+                ListObjectsV2Response response =
+                        s3Client.listObjectsV2(ListObjectsV2Request.builder().bucket(container).maxKeys(1).build());
+
+                // Returns 200 only in case the bucket exists, however, otherwise, throws an exception. However, to
+                // ensure coverage, check if the result is successful as well and not only catch exceptions
+                if (!response.sdkHttpResponse().isSuccessful()) {
+                    throw new CompilationException(ErrorCode.EXTERNAL_SOURCE_CONTAINER_NOT_FOUND, container);
+                }
+            } catch (SdkException ex) {
+                throw new CompilationException(ErrorCode.EXTERNAL_SOURCE_ERROR, ex.getMessage());
+            } finally {
+                if (s3Client != null) {
+                    CleanupUtils.close(s3Client, null);
+                }
+            }
+        }
+    }
 }
diff --git a/asterixdb/pom.xml b/asterixdb/pom.xml
index cd5e060..9daf70f 100644
--- a/asterixdb/pom.xml
+++ b/asterixdb/pom.xml
@@ -1432,6 +1432,11 @@
           </exclusion>
         </exclusions>
       </dependency>
+      <dependency>
+        <groupId>software.amazon.awssdk</groupId>
+        <artifactId>http-client-spi</artifactId>
+        <version>${awsjavasdk.version}</version>
+      </dependency>
       <!-- Mock for AWS S3 -->
       <dependency>
         <groupId>io.findify</groupId>