Buildout : Remote Access

Since I don't want to carry around keyboard/video/mouse, I've taken another approach. I've installed a WIFI USB adapter to connect to my home network and have set up an "Ad Hoc network" that starts when the PC is booted.

Setting up your home network is a cinch; however, it took some doing to figure out how to automatically have the Ad Hoc network start at boot.  Here's what you have to do:

Create a batch file (I named it "start_network.bat" and put it under my documents). Contents of the batch files need to be :

-----------------------------------START-----------------------------------------
net wlan set hostednetwork mode=allow "ssid=YOUR_GIVEN_NAME_FOR_THE_NETWORK" "key=ANYPASSWORD" keyusage=persistent

netsh wlan start hostednetwork
 ------------------------------------END------------------------------------------

One would think they could just put this file under the "startup" folder in the start menu... WRONG. Won't work, you need admin privileges to run this. The only option is to add it to the Scheduled Tasks. Here's what you have to do:

Go to Start->All Programs->Accessories->System Tools->Task Scheduler

So, in the Task Scheduler, I created a new task that runs my batch file. Here's the properties of the new task:
General->Run whether user is logged on or not, Run with highest privileges
Triggers->At system startup
Actions->(this depends)"C:\users\YOURUSERNAME\Documents\start_network.bat"
Settings->"run task as soon as possible after a scheduled start is missed" should be checked.

Connecting via RDP or VNC :

I have an Android phone that I carry with me everywhere. So, that's my keyboard/video/mouse for my VST PC when in a pinch. Having set up the Ad Hoc network means that I can connect to that network (the one from the batch file, YOUR_GIVEN_NAME_FOR_THE_NETWORK) and RDP or VNC to connect to my PC at 192.168.173.1.   RDP is much faster than VNC, but VNC is more supported.  Both are supported under any Android or even iPad/iPhone smartphone or tablet.

Also of note, having set up an Ad Hoc network doesn't exclude the VST PC from connecting to my home network. The home network is my most desirable means of connecting to the VST PC; however, when the home network is not available (i.e. at a gig), the Ad Hoc network is always there just in case.