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Composable disaggregated infrastructure (CDI) is a data-center architecture that separates hardware resources—such as compute, storage, networking, memory, and accelerators—into pools, then uses software to assemble the resources a workload needs. A fabric connects the pools; management and orchestration software allocates and reconfigures them. CDI is an architecture, not a single product or protocol.

What “composable” and “disaggregated” mean

Disaggregated: resources are separated

In a conventional server, a set of components is installed together in a relatively fixed configuration. Disaggregation separates resource types that might otherwise be bundled into servers or chassis, making them available as pools. Depending on the design, those pools can include compute, storage, network resources, memory, and accelerators such as GPUs. The OpenFabrics Alliance’s Sunfish documentation describes CDI in this resource-pooling and fabric-connected context.

Composable: software assembles resources for workloads

Composition is the software-controlled step: resources are assigned to form a virtual system suited to a particular workload. The Open Composable API compatibility page puts its purpose this way: “The OC API was developed to enable composition of virtual systems from disaggregated hardware.”

Composable infrastructure is a closely related, broader term. Western Digital describes compute, storage, and network modules organized into pools and dynamically allocated to workloads in its Composable Infrastructure technology brief. CDI usage puts particular emphasis on disaggregation and fabric-connected pools, and may include pooled memory and accelerators.

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How CDI works

  1. Separate the hardware: Compute, storage, memory, networking, and other supported resources are made available apart from fixed server configurations.
  2. Connect resource pools: A high-speed fabric links resources to hosts or to a shared infrastructure domain.
  3. Expose inventory and capabilities: Resource and fabric managers provide software interfaces or APIs for discovering what is available and how it can be used.
  4. Compose a system: Orchestration software provisions or reconfigures a set of resources for a workload. When they are no longer needed, resources can be returned to pools or reassigned.

The exact hardware, fabric, APIs, and management software depend on the implementation. CDI describes the architecture and operating model rather than one required product stack.

Where CXL and Kubernetes fit

CXL is an enabling technology, not another name for CDI

Compute Express Link (CXL) is one interconnect family that can support parts of composable and disaggregated systems. The CXL Consortium’s February 20, 2024, introduction to the CXL 3.1 specification discusses fabric and manager API enhancements intended to support such systems. CXL does not, by itself, define the complete CDI architecture: resource pooling, management, and composition are also involved. See the Consortium’s CXL 3.1 specification introduction.

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Kubernetes is one possible orchestration path

CDI does not require Kubernetes. One current cloud-native example is CoHDI, which the Cloud Native Computing Foundation announced as a Sandbox project on July 28, 2026. The CNCF describes CoHDI components that connect Kubernetes Dynamic Resource Allocation with a composable infrastructure manager, expose resources as ResourceSlices, and dynamically attach or detach composable hardware such as GPUs. That example shows one way to integrate CDI concepts with Kubernetes; it does not mean every CDI system uses CoHDI or Kubernetes. Details are in the CNCF announcement.

What CDI is intended to improve—and what is not guaranteed

Pooling resources and assigning them as needed can be intended to improve utilization and make infrastructure more adaptable to changing workloads. Sources describe these as qualitative goals or potential benefits, not as a universal measured outcome. Results depend on the deployment and workload; the available architectural sources do not establish a comparable improvement in utilization, cost, performance, or energy use across CDI implementations. IBM Research’s CDI project page provides additional architectural context but not a general benchmark.

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How to compare CDI implementations

There is no single specification or common benchmark in the cited material that makes every CDI implementation directly comparable. For a specific data-center deployment, evaluate the features and evidence that matter to its workloads:

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  • Resource types: Which pools are supported—compute, storage, memory, networking, accelerators, or a subset?
  • Fabric and latency: What fabric connects the resources, and what latency does the target workload experience?
  • Allocation granularity: How precisely can resources be assigned, and can they be reconfigured at the granularity the workload requires?
  • Management and interoperability: Which APIs are available, and how well do the manager and hardware work across vendors?
  • Security and isolation: How are shared resources isolated and access controlled?
  • Workload-specific measurements: Request measured performance or utilization evidence for the intended workload and deployment conditions rather than relying on general benefit claims.

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