Chkk Inc. launched today with $5.2 million in funding and a software platform that promises to ease the task of maintaining Kubernetes clusters.

The Sunnyvale, California-based startup raised the capital through a seed round led by Sequoia. According to TechCrunch, the investment closed in May.

A large Kubernetes cluster can include upwards of hundreds of components. There are containers, Kubernetes add-ons that extend the framework with capabilities not included out of the box and so-called control planes. Those are software engines that automatically perform some of the maintenance tasks involved in running a container environment.

A single malfunctioning component can potentially cause an entire Kubernetes cluster to go offline. Chkk has developed a software platform, the Kubernetes Availability Platform, that promises to reduce the risk of such outages. It can also ease the task of updating software components when a new version is available.

“Kubernetes has become the de facto standard for cloud-native applications but it is complex to operate,” said Chkk co-founder and Chief Executive Officer Awais Nemat. “Running mission-critical applications on Kubernetes requires teams to navigate a convoluted maze of open source, vendor-managed and cloud provider add-ons with intricate dependencies and bespoke release cycles.”

One common factor behind Kubernetes outages is that it’s difficult for administrators to keep track of all the components in a cluster. When there are hundreds of different modules, regularly checking each one for issues can be prohibitively time-consuming. That increases the chance that configuration issues will go unnoticed. 

To address the challenge, Chkk’s platform includes a tool that can automatically map out all of a Kubernetes cluster’s components. The tool also logs which specific version of each component is installed in the cluster. It displays the collected information in a centralized dashboard.

According to Chkk, its platform also includes a second tool that can scan a Kubernetes cluster for technical issues and prioritize them based on severity. The tool is capable of detecting misconfigured settings that may led to outages down the road. The software also spots other issues, such as components that are incompatible with one another or require an update.

Upgrading a Kubernetes cluster to a new version can be a time-consuming process. First, administrators have to verify that downloading the new version won’t cause technical issues. They must then roll it out, test that the change was implemented successfully and, if it wasn’t, repeat the process from scratch at a later date. 

The company says its platform can speed up the task. It includes a feature called Upgrade Copilot that automates many of the manual tasks involved in updating Kubernetes clusters. According to the company, the software can perform upgrades that usually take weeks in one day.

Chkk currently has 15 employees. The company will use its seed funding to hire more staffers and enhance its platform. 

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