It is with a heavy heart that I must relate the news that Don Smith, formerly of CenturyLink and more lately of Netscout Arbor, passed away in his sleep last night.
Don was a colleague, friend, and mentor to many; he was a mainstay of the operational community, and tirelessly worked to make the Internet safer and more resilient for us all. His intellect, wit, and generosity of spirit were well-known to those who were privileged to have the opportunity to work with and learn from him.
Don’s contributions to the industry were manifold. While we are all diminished by his loss, his legacy abides; and we can honor him by continuing to build upon that foundation, for the betterment of the Internet community as a whole.
Once Don’s family have established plans for his memorial, they will be posted here.
I’m so very sorry to hear this news. My condolences to Don’s family and all of his many, many friends. He was a great teammate in our shared mission to improve the Internet. Zichrono livracha, Don’s memory is definitely for blessing.
I was informed of this earlier today... I’ve known Don for almost all of the 20+ years that he was engaged with this community. I am very sad to hear of his passing.
Among his many accomplishments, one of the things that always impressed me about Don was that -- in addition to being a good friend and colleague -- he was also no-nonsense expert technical voice of reason and sanity (also a CCIE) and an early volunteer SANS Daily Incident Handler.
I have no words. I must say I honestly can’t believe these news but I should.
Throughout all those virtual meetings I was hoping one day we’ll talk about things important for both of us once again. He was a leader. An inspiration.