Product and Software: This article applies to ArubaOS 3.3.2.x and later.
Question: If a dual-band AP is configured for an SSID1 in band b/g and SSID2 in band a, and if all the conditions are met in the b/g band for the AP to turn itself off, would it continue to act as an AP in the a band while it is an AM in the b/g band?
Question: The feature can be implemented manually, but is ARM 2.0 able to do that automatically?
The answer to both questions is yes. In such case, the AP radio in the 802.11a band continues to serve SSID2 users while the SSID1 in the 802.11g is turned off and the AP operates as an AM in the g band.
An AP with two radios can switch to an AM in one band while continuing to service the other band as an AP depends on the number of co-channel APs seen by the current AP.
Collectively, if the channel of operation has enough coverage (> acceptable coverage index), no active clients are connected, and the AP is not an edge AP, the AP should convert to an AM if mode-aware ARM is enabled.
For dual radio APs, mode-aware ARM operates independently on each radio. Typically, you will see "g" radios converting to AMs first, because only three channels are available for operation.