FAQ¶
Getting Started with Thor¶
Why Thor if Tower exists?¶
Tower is a comprehensive tool for cluster management. Thor is designed for simple installations: a single NOC node (co-located with or separate from the database nodes).
How to install Thor?¶
Install Thor via
Complete setup instructions are available in our Installation guide.
How to upgrade Thor?¶
Upgrade Thor by running
Your existing configuration files are preserved automatically. See Installation guide for details.
How quickly can I deploy NOC with Thor?¶
Typically, a new NOC installation comes up in 1-2 minutes.
Is Thor production-ready?¶
Currently, Thor only supports the master branch. Official support for Thor will begin with the NOC 26 release.
Requirements and Labs¶
Does Thor work on macOS?¶
Yes. We provide all Docker images and packages for ARM64, and they work perfectly on macOS.
What is the best Docker runtime for NOC on macOS?¶
Currently, OrbStack provides the best performance.
Does Thor work on Windows?¶
It is not officially supported. While it can run through Windows Subsystem for Linux (WSL2), we do not recommend this configuration at the moment.
How much RAM do I need to try NOC?¶
About 4GB for NOC itself, plus around 1GB for each virtual router in the lab.
Can I try NOC without network hardware?¶
Yes, the Labs feature allows you to spin up a network lab in containers and connect it to NOC.
Can I use Thor for NOC development?¶
Yes. The main development of NOC is currently done using Thor.
Architecture and Design¶
Is Thor a Docker version of NOC?¶
No. Thor is an orchestration tool, not a NOC distribution. It currently uses docker-compose as a backend, but the plan is to also support Apple Container and Kubernetes in the future.
What is the main difference between Thor and Tower?¶
Tower provides a UI, a cluster configuration database, and Ansible-based deployment. Thor translates a text-based YAML configuration file into directives for the target backend.
Why not Helm?¶
Helm is Kubernetes-specific and adds unnecessary complexity for single-node or small installations. Thor, on the other hand, has built-in knowledge of NOC services and their dependencies, which minimizes configuration errors and accelerates the initial experience. Docker-compose fits the majority of use cases better in these scenarios. Support for Kubernetes backends will be added in future releases.
Why not just docker-compose.yml?¶
NOC is highly flexible, with complex inter-service dependencies. Thor guarantees a fully functional deployment environment. Furthermore, Thor generates configuration files compliant with the strictest security standards and best practices.
Will I lose data on update?¶
No. NOC stores all its data in persistent Docker volumes. Thor only manages the service containers.
Can I use my own Docker images?¶
Yes, you can override any image in the thor.yml configuration file under the services section.
Support and License¶
What is the license of Thor?¶
Thor is released under the 3-clause BSD License.
Where can I get support?¶
Please use GitHub Issues for bugs or Discussions for feature requests.
Can I help the NOC project financially?¶
Yes, you can support our work via GitHub Sponsors or Buy Me a Coffee. Your contributions help us continue developing and maintaining NOC as a high-quality open-source project.
About Gufo¶
What does "Gufo" mean?¶
Gufo means the Owl in Italian.
Why the owls?¶
We love owls and the viable parts of our technologies were proven at the project, named "the Owl".
What is "Gufo Labs"?¶
Gufo Labs is the italian company specialized in network and IT consulting, and on software research.
What is "Gufo Stack"?¶
We've extracted core components behind the NOC and released them as independent packages, available under the terms of the 3-clause BSD license. Our software shares common code quality standards and is battle-proven under the high load. We hope our key components will help the engineers and the developers to build reliable networks and robust network management software. See more for details.