Dynamic entropy ranges are runtime operational state pre-use cached results of entropy calculations based on an actual state of links. These results may include proactive entropy calculations based on the up- and down-states of links. A non-binary state for links that describes their load can also be included. This information enables network optimization and traffic engineering by introducing the capability of querying additional details in the multipart-multipath entropy query. Querying can be accomplished using Label Switched Path (LSP) Ping or any other Operations, Administration, and Maintenance (OAM) extensions, such as Yet Another Next Generation (YANG). Upon receiving such a query, a transit node will reply back with entropy ranges for different combinations of link failure. The response is cached by the initiator and used accordingly based on failure detection
