Avici Systems , which entered the core router market back in 1997 and bailed last April after fighting an uphill battle vs. Cisco and Juniper, hasn't entirely gone away. In fact, you might be surprised to learn that Soapstone Networks, a business that grew out of Avici and that concentrates on telecom management, had such a good year in 2007 that it ranked 3rd on the Boston Globe's annual Globe 100 listing of publicly-held companies.

The criteria for the rankings is a bit complicated (it includes return on average equity, one-year percentage change in revenue and profit margin, plus 2007 revenue), but the formula worked in Soapstone's favor , putting it behind only big contractor Perini and financial firm Eaton Vance.

A Globe profile on Soapstone does warn that 2008's numbers won't be so hot for the Billerica, Mass., company, which posted a $3.7 million Q1 loss and saw revenue plummet 87%.

The company does have a decent amount of cash on hand though, and no debt, so its management team is optimistic that Soapstone can make a go of it, even if it does wind up going head to head with Cisco again...