An exemplary method is provided for determining a maximum transmission distance for an optical link that has heterogeneous types of optical fiber segments. The method includes retrieving from a database a maximum transmission reach value for each type of optical fiber present in the optical link. A length of each type of the optical fiber to reach a distance is computed, where, for each type of the optical fiber present in the optical link, segments are summed from a starting point to the distance to determine the length of each type of the optical fiber along the optical link. The length for each type of the optical fiber in the optical link is normalized by multiplying the length of each type of the optical fiber by a weight chosen as a function of the maximum transmission reach value for each type of said optical fiber.