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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 Upgrade 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 can be requested for specific clusters through the Chkk Dashboard
  • Or via CLI (local mode): device‑code login; no in‑cluster install; request and view an Upgrade Assessment from the terminal (use when you want a quick read without installing anything)
  • They analyze the current state of your infrastructure
  • Agentic 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
  • CLI output is Markdown today; JSON schema and flags are available/coming for automation and dashboards
  • They provide the foundation for requesting Upgrade Templates
  • Teams can use them to gauge upgrade readiness and remediate issues early
4. Operationalization (when to run):
  • Planning (months ahead): T‑shirt size platform work; decide what’s delegable vs. needs Staff/Principal review; create app‑team work items (e.g., remove deprecated/removed APIs, fix PDBs)
  • Readiness tracking (weekly): run a CI/cron job to generate a fresh Upgrade Assessment and publish to team dashboards/Wikis for continuous visibility
5. Expectations Upgrade Assessments optimize for speed and planning‑grade signal (no pre‑verification). Use an Upgrade Template or Upgrade Plan for execution‑grade workflows.

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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 upgrade tasks across Platform Team members
  • Facilitates proactive, frictionless coordination with Application Teams

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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
Upgrade Templates/Plans are preverified against a Digital Twin of your running configuration and take longer to generate; use them closer to execution.
This comprehensive approach ensures teams can scope effort and delegate work early, making upgrades faster, safer, and more predictable.