diff --git a/bin/simple-subnet-api.js b/bin/simple-subnet-api.js
index e638191..0ae3a3a 100644
--- a/bin/simple-subnet-api.js
+++ b/bin/simple-subnet-api.js
@@ -1,6 +1,22 @@
 import '../lib/instrument.js'
 import { createApp } from '../lib/app.js'
-import { DATABASE_URL, HOST, PORT, REQUEST_LOGGING, poolConfig } from '../lib/config.js'
+import { DATABASE_URL, HOST, PORT, REQUEST_LOGGING, poolConfig, roundServiceConfig } from '../lib/config.js'
+import { TaskingService } from '../lib/tasking-service.js'
+import { RoundService } from '../lib/round-service.js'
+import { createPgPool } from '../lib/pool.js'
+
+const pool = await createPgPool(DATABASE_URL)
+const taskingService = new TaskingService()
+const roundService = new RoundService(
+  pool,
+  taskingService,
+  roundServiceConfig
+)
+
+roundService.start().catch((error) => {
+  console.error('Failed to start round service:', error)
+  process.exit(1)
+})
 
 const app = createApp({
   databaseUrl: DATABASE_URL,
diff --git a/lib/config.js b/lib/config.js
index fc42382..2e7cb3d 100644
--- a/lib/config.js
+++ b/lib/config.js
@@ -19,4 +19,9 @@ const poolConfig = {
   maxLifetimeSeconds: 60
 }
 
-export { DATABASE_URL, PORT, HOST, REQUEST_LOGGING, poolConfig }
+const roundServiceConfig = {
+  roundDurationMs: 1_200_000, // 20 minutes
+  checkRoundExpirationIntervalMs: 60_000 // 1 minute
+}
+
+export { DATABASE_URL, PORT, HOST, REQUEST_LOGGING, poolConfig, roundServiceConfig }
diff --git a/lib/round-service.js b/lib/round-service.js
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..8f8b33a
--- /dev/null
+++ b/lib/round-service.js
@@ -0,0 +1,184 @@
+/** @typedef {{id: number; startTime: string; endTime: string; isExpired: Boolean; }} Round */
+/** @typedef {{ roundDurationMs: number; checkRoundExpirationIntervalMs: number }} RoundConfig */
+
+export class RoundService {
+  /**
+   * @type {NodeJS.Timeout | null}
+   */
+  checkRoundExpirationInterval = null
+  #db
+  #config
+  #taskingService
+
+  /**
+   * @param {import('./typings.js').PgPool} db
+   * @param {import('./tasking-service.js').TaskingService} taskingService
+   * @param {RoundConfig} config
+   */
+  constructor (db, taskingService, config) {
+    this.#db = db
+    this.#config = config
+    this.#taskingService = taskingService
+  }
+
+  /**
+   * Start the round service
+   */
+  async start () {
+    try {
+      await this.#initializeRound()
+      this.#scheduleRoundExpirationCheck()
+      console.log(`Round service started. Round duration: ${this.#config.roundDurationMs / 60000} minutes`)
+    } catch (error) {
+      console.error('Failed to start round service:', error)
+      throw error
+    }
+  }
+
+  /**
+   * Stop the round service
+   */
+  stop () {
+    if (this.checkRoundExpirationInterval) clearInterval(this.checkRoundExpirationInterval)
+    console.log('Round service stopped')
+  }
+
+  /**
+   * Initialize the current round
+   */
+  async #initializeRound () {
+    const currentRound = await this.#getCurrentActiveRound()
+
+    if (currentRound && !currentRound.isExpired) {
+      console.log(`Resuming active round #${currentRound.id}`)
+    } else {
+      await this.#startNewRound()
+    }
+  }
+
+  /**
+   * Schedule periodic checks for round expiration
+   */
+  #scheduleRoundExpirationCheck () {
+    this.checkRoundExpirationInterval = setInterval(async () => {
+      try {
+        const currentRound = await this.#getCurrentActiveRound()
+        if (currentRound && !currentRound.isExpired) {
+          return
+        }
+
+        await this.#startNewRound()
+      } catch (error) {
+        console.error('Error handling round end:', error)
+      }
+    }, this.#config.checkRoundExpirationIntervalMs)
+  }
+
+  /**
+   * Start a new round
+   */
+  async #startNewRound () {
+    const currentRound = await this.#getCurrentActiveRound()
+    const newRound = await this.#createNewRound()
+
+    await this.#taskingService.generateTasksForRound(newRound.id)
+    if (currentRound) {
+      await this.#changeRoundActive({ roundId: currentRound.id, active: false })
+    }
+
+    await this.#changeRoundActive({ roundId: newRound.id, active: true })
+  }
+
+  /**
+   * Get the current active round from the database
+   * @returns {Promise<Round | null>}
+   */
+  async #getCurrentActiveRound () {
+    try {
+      const { rows } = await this.#db.query(`
+        SELECT 
+          cr.*, 
+          cr.end_time <= NOW() AS is_expired
+        FROM checker_rounds cr
+        WHERE active = true
+        ORDER BY start_time DESC
+        LIMIT 1
+      `)
+
+      if (!rows.length) {
+        return null
+      }
+
+      const [round] = rows
+      return {
+        id: round.id,
+        startTime: round.start_time,
+        endTime: round.end_time,
+        isExpired: round.is_expired
+      }
+    } catch (error) {
+      console.error('Error getting active round:', error)
+      throw error
+    }
+  }
+
+  /**
+   * Create a new round
+   *
+   * @returns {Promise<Round>}
+   * @throws {Error} if the round creation fails
+   */
+  async #createNewRound () {
+    try {
+      const { rows } = await this.#db.query(`
+        INSERT INTO checker_rounds (start_time, end_time, active)
+        VALUES (
+          NOW(), 
+          NOW() + ($1 || ' milliseconds')::INTERVAL,
+          $2
+        )
+        RETURNING *, end_time <= NOW() AS is_expired
+      `, [this.#config.roundDurationMs, false])
+
+      const [round] = rows
+      console.log(`Created new round #${round.id} starting at ${round.startTime}`)
+      return {
+        id: round.id,
+        startTime: round.start_time,
+        endTime: round.end_time,
+        isExpired: round.is_expired
+      }
+    } catch (error) {
+      console.error('Error creating new round:', error)
+      throw error
+    }
+  }
+
+  /**
+   * Change the status of a round using a transaction
+   * @param {object} args
+   * @param {number} args.roundId
+   * @param {Boolean} args.active
+   */
+  async #changeRoundActive ({ roundId, active }) {
+    const client = await this.#db.connect()
+
+    try {
+      await client.query('BEGIN')
+      await client.query(`
+        UPDATE checker_rounds
+        SET active = $1
+        WHERE id = $2`,
+      [active, roundId])
+      await client.query('COMMIT')
+
+      console.log(`Round #${roundId} active: ${active}`)
+    } catch (error) {
+      await client.query('ROLLBACK')
+      console.error('Error changing round status:', error)
+      throw error
+    } finally {
+      client.release()
+    }
+  }
+}
diff --git a/lib/tasking-service.js b/lib/tasking-service.js
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..085dd88
--- /dev/null
+++ b/lib/tasking-service.js
@@ -0,0 +1,22 @@
+/** @typedef {any} Task */
+/** @typedef {() => Promise<Task[]>} TaskSamplingFn */
+
+export class TaskingService {
+  /**
+   * Register a task sampler for a specific subnet
+   * @param {string} subnet - The subnet identifier
+   * @param {TaskSamplingFn} sampleFn - Function that generates tasks for a subnet
+   */
+  registerTaskSampler (subnet, sampleFn) {
+    console.warn('Registering task sampler is not implemented.')
+  }
+
+  /**
+   * Generate tasks for all registered subnets for a specific round
+   * @param {number} roundId
+   */
+  async generateTasksForRound (roundId) {
+    // TODO: Implement the logic to generate tasks for all registered subnets
+    console.warn('Tasking service is not implemented.')
+  }
+}
diff --git a/migrations/003.do.checker-rounds.sql b/migrations/003.do.checker-rounds.sql
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..a1251a6
--- /dev/null
+++ b/migrations/003.do.checker-rounds.sql
@@ -0,0 +1,6 @@
+CREATE TABLE IF NOT EXISTS checker_rounds (
+    id BIGSERIAL PRIMARY KEY,
+    start_time TIMESTAMPTZ NOT NULL,
+    end_time TIMESTAMPTZ NOT NULL,
+    active BOOLEAN NOT NULL DEFAULT FALSE
+);
diff --git a/test/round-service.test.js b/test/round-service.test.js
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..990aefd
--- /dev/null
+++ b/test/round-service.test.js
@@ -0,0 +1,104 @@
+import assert from 'assert'
+import { after, before, beforeEach, describe, it } from 'node:test'
+import { createPgPool } from '../lib/pool.js'
+import { migrateWithPgClient } from '../lib/migrate.js'
+import { DATABASE_URL } from '../lib/config.js'
+import { RoundService } from '../lib/round-service.js'
+import { TaskingService } from '../lib/tasking-service.js'
+import { withRound } from './test-helpers.js'
+
+const DEFAULT_CONFIG = {
+  roundDurationMs: 1000,
+  checkRoundExpirationIntervalMs: 200
+}
+
+describe('RoundService', () => {
+  /** @type {import('pg').Pool} */
+  let pgPool
+  /** @type {TaskingService} */
+  let taskingService
+
+  before(async () => {
+    pgPool = await createPgPool(DATABASE_URL)
+    await migrateWithPgClient(pgPool)
+    taskingService = new TaskingService()
+  })
+
+  after(async () => {
+    await pgPool.end()
+  })
+
+  beforeEach(async () => {
+    // Reset the database state before each test
+    await pgPool.query('DELETE FROM checker_rounds')
+    await pgPool.query('ALTER SEQUENCE checker_rounds_id_seq RESTART WITH 1')
+  })
+
+  describe('rounds', () => {
+    it('should create a new round if no active round exists', async () => {
+      const roundService = new RoundService(pgPool, taskingService, DEFAULT_CONFIG)
+
+      await roundService.start()
+      roundService.stop()
+
+      const { rows: rounds } = await pgPool.query('SELECT * FROM checker_rounds WHERE active = true')
+      assert.strictEqual(rounds.length, 1)
+      assert.ok(new Date(rounds[0].end_time) > new Date())
+    })
+
+    it('should resume an active round if one exists', async () => {
+      await withRound({
+        pgPool,
+        roundDurationMs: DEFAULT_CONFIG.roundDurationMs,
+        active: true
+      })
+
+      const roundService = new RoundService(pgPool, taskingService, DEFAULT_CONFIG)
+
+      await roundService.start()
+      roundService.stop()
+
+      const { rows: rounds } = await pgPool.query('SELECT * FROM checker_rounds WHERE active = true')
+      assert.strictEqual(rounds.length, 1)
+    })
+
+    it('should stop the round service and prevent further round checks', async () => {
+      const roundService = new RoundService(pgPool, taskingService, DEFAULT_CONFIG)
+
+      await roundService.start()
+      roundService.stop()
+
+      const { rows: rounds } = await pgPool.query('SELECT * FROM checker_rounds WHERE active = true')
+      assert.strictEqual(rounds.length, 1)
+
+      // Wait for the check interval to pass and ensure no new rounds are created
+      await new Promise(resolve => setTimeout(resolve, DEFAULT_CONFIG.checkRoundExpirationIntervalMs + 1000))
+
+      const { rows: newRounds } = await pgPool.query('SELECT * FROM checker_rounds')
+      assert.strictEqual(newRounds.length, 1)
+    })
+  })
+
+  describe('round transitions', () => {
+    it('should deactivate the old round and create a new one when the current round ends', async () => {
+      await withRound({
+        pgPool,
+        roundDurationMs: 1000, // 1 second duration
+        active: true
+      })
+
+      const roundService = new RoundService(pgPool, taskingService, DEFAULT_CONFIG)
+
+      await roundService.start()
+      // Wait for the current round to end
+      await new Promise(resolve => setTimeout(resolve, 2000))
+
+      roundService.stop()
+
+      const { rows: activeRounds } = await pgPool.query('SELECT * FROM checker_rounds WHERE active = true')
+      const { rows: allRounds } = await pgPool.query('SELECT * FROM checker_rounds')
+      assert.strictEqual(activeRounds.length, 1)
+      assert.strictEqual(allRounds.length, 2)
+    })
+  })
+})
diff --git a/test/test-helpers.js b/test/test-helpers.js
index 1314578..78b74d6 100644
--- a/test/test-helpers.js
+++ b/test/test-helpers.js
@@ -47,3 +47,23 @@ export const postMeasurement = (baseUrl, subnet, measurement) => {
     body: JSON.stringify(measurement)
   })
 }
+
+/**
+ * @param {object} args
+ * @param {import('../lib/typings.js').PgPool} args.pgPool
+ * @param {number} args.roundDurationMs
+ * @param {boolean} [args.active=false]
+ */
+export const withRound = async ({ pgPool, roundDurationMs, active = false }) => {
+  const { rows } = await pgPool.query(`
+    INSERT INTO checker_rounds (start_time, end_time, active)
+    VALUES (
+      NOW(), 
+      NOW() + ($1 || ' milliseconds')::INTERVAL, 
+      $2
+    )
+    RETURNING *
+  `, [roundDurationMs, active])
+
+  return rows[0]
+}