Do I actually need to give my equipment a domain name?

[ElQueue]

Other than making key generation simple and local DNS entries, what is the point of using the "ip domain-name" line on my ASA, routers, and switches?

If so, what is acceptable to put there if I'm not part of a domain?

[Karsten Iwen]

More or less, you are answering it yourself ... Typically it's not needed. But a device on the network should have a valid FQDN. And if you care about good/clean/elegant configs, the domain-name is part of that.

[ElQueue]

I agree that in a perfect world I would have FQDNs, but short of buying a domain, I don't knew what to put there.

[luis_cordova]

Hi @ElQueue ,

Check this discussion:

https://community.cisco.com/t5/switching/ip-domain-name/td-p/1119110

As mentioned, the parameter you enter with that command will be used for some security features, such as SSH.
If you do not have a specific DNS, you can put a value on your election.

Regards

[Karsten Iwen]

You don't need a public domain here. When you have Cisco gear, you are typically in a larger environment with an internal DNS-server that is configured for a specific domain (public or internal). This would be a good choice for the domain-name on your devices. But still, technically it's typically not needed.