The present disclosure provides to Optical Transport Network (OTN_ synchronization systems and methods that maintain proper sequential ordering of events at nodes which may be utilized in performing root cause analysis or diagnosing network performance. In an exemplary embodiment, the systems and methods utilize functionality incorporated into OTN providing a cost effective and standards-based approach to nodal synchronization. Once synchronized, network events are logged with an appropriate timestamp enabling a determination of a sequential order of network events can be determined. Further, the node timestamps may be synchronized, with microsecond or even sub-microsecond of precession which is critical in diagnosing network failures or slow traffic recovery.