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What are Chkk Upgrade Assessments?

Chkk Upgrade Assessments are high-level reports that map the scope, impact, and dependencies of upgrading a Kubernetes cluster—along with its add-ons and application services—to the next minor version. They serve as the foundational analysis that helps teams understand what’s involved in an upgrade before creating detailed execution plans.

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Key Characteristics

1. Comprehensive Mapping
  • Scope Analysis: Identifies all components that need to be upgraded (control plane, nodes, add-ons, application services, operators)
  • Impact Assessment: Evaluates the potential effects of upgrading each component
  • Dependency Mapping: Maps relationships and dependencies between different infrastructure layers
2. Early Risk Identification Upgrade Assessments surface critical information including:
  • Required version hops: Which components need multi-step upgrades
  • Deprecated APIs: Applications using APIs that will be removed
  • Potential blockers: Issues that could prevent successful upgrades
  • Breaking changes: Configuration or behavioral changes to expect
  • EOL risks: Components approaching end-of-life status
3. Multi-Layer Analysis The assessments analyze dependencies across:
  • Platform Layer: Kubernetes control plane and nodes
  • Application Layer: Add-ons, application services, and operators
  • Cross-layer compatibility: How changes in one layer affect others

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How Upgrade Assessments Work

1. Generation Process
  • Assessments are requested for specific clusters through the Chkk Dashboard
  • They analyze the current state of your infrastructure
  • AI-powered analysis identifies upgrade requirements and potential issues
2. Status Lifecycle
  • Waiting for Assessment → Being generated
  • Available → Ready for review and download
3. Output and Usage
  • Assessments can be downloaded as Markdown files for team sharing
  • They provide the foundation for requesting Upgrade Templates
  • Teams can use them to gauge upgrade readiness and remediate issues early

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Key Benefits

1. Early Planning
  • Allows teams to understand upgrade complexity before starting
  • Helps with resource allocation and timeline planning
  • Enables proactive issue resolution
2. Risk Mitigation
  • Identifies potential blockers before they cause problems
  • Surfaces deprecated APIs that need attention
  • Highlights compatibility issues between components
3. Team Coordination
  • Provides a shared understanding of upgrade scope
  • Enables delegation of remediation tasks
  • Facilitates stakeholder communication

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Relationship to Other Chkk Components

1. Foundation for Templates
  • Upgrade Assessments can be used to request Upgrade Templates
  • The assessment data informs the template generation process
  • Templates inherit the analysis from assessments
2. Part of the Upgrade Workflow The typical Chkk upgrade workflow follows this pattern:
  1. Upgrade Assessment → Understand scope and impact
  2. Upgrade Template → Get detailed, AI-curated workflow
  3. Upgrade Plan → Execute cluster-specific instructions

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Integration with Chkk Upgrade Copilot

Upgrade Assessments are one of the three complementary capabilities of Chkk Upgrade Copilot:
  1. Upgrade Assessments → Map scope, impact, and dependencies
  2. Upgrade Templates → Provide detailed, pre-verified workflows
  3. Upgrade Plans → Instantiate templates for specific cluster execution
This comprehensive approach ensures teams can scope effort and delegate work early, making upgrades faster, safer, and more predictable.