A method for monitoring optical performance in an optical data transmission network, the optical data transmission network including a first router node, a second router node, and an optical data transmission line connecting the first router node with the second router node providing optical data transmission from the first router node to the second router node using at least two channels, includes: in a measurement step, determining, at the spare IP router interface, optical performance parameters of the at least two channels; in a transmission step subsequent to the measurement step, transmitting the determined optical performance parameters to a remote control unit; and in an analysis step subsequent to the transmission step, analyzing the transmitted optical performance parameters and determining whether to take a corrective action to improve optical performance of the at least two channels.