A system to implement query-level access by a database engine to an external distributed file system by identifying a results file location of one or more results files on the external distributed file system, and storing the results file locations in external table files on the database engine for subsequent use during retrieval of data from the results files. The database engine serves to process queries where the query specifies the external table (which in turn references locations of the results files). Execution of the query streams data from the external distributed file system into the database engine. The data from the external distributed file system is not stored in the external table files on the database engine; rather, the external table files specify a location of code or operational directives which, when executed, streams results from the external distributed file system to at least one parallel query engine.