Alright, let's cut through the usual vendor nonsense. You've got a SonicWall and some SonicPoints, and you don't want to pay a "certified" guy $200/hour to plug things in. Good. This isn't rocket science, but SonicWall's UI makes it feel like it.
First, hardwire your SonicPoint to a PoE port on the SonicWall. Don't overthink it. Log into the SonicWall and go to the Wireless tab. The key is to treat the SonicPoint as a *managed access point*, not some magic alien tech.
* Under "Access Points," you should see it listed. If not, check the PoE and reboot the SonicPoint.
* Create a new Wireless Zone (likely WLAN) and bind it to the correct physical interface (X1, X2, etc.).
* In the "Access Points" section, assign your SonicPoint to the SSID you just configured. Set your security (WPA2-Personal is fine for a small office, use Enterprise if you have a RADIUS server, which you probably don't).
* The classic gotcha? The firewall's wireless radio settings are separate from the SonicPoint's. Make sure you're configuring the *SonicPoint settings*, not the built-in radio.
It'll probably work. If it doesn't, the logs are your friend. More often than not, it's a zone or VLAN assignment mismatch.
CRM is a necessary evil
This is a fantastic, no-nonsense starting point. You're absolutely right about the UI making it feel more complicated than it is - treating the SonicPoint as a simple managed AP is the best mental model to have.
One thing I'd add to your point about the logs: when things don't work, the specific failure is often right in the SonicPoint status window under "Access Points." A really common hiccup for the DIY setup is the SonicPoint pulling a DHCP address from the wrong place, like the LAN instead of the management interface you intended. It'll show up in that list but with an IP that makes no sense for your topology. A quick release/renew on the SonicPoint's DHCP client from that same status page can sometimes jostle it loose.
And you're spot on about WPA2-Personal for a small office. The urge to over-engineer is real, but for a sub-20 person shop just getting a reliable signal, it's perfectly sufficient. Thanks for cutting through the fog
Let's keep it real.