Notebook as remote controller for a rack mount DAW?

Depends on what you are trying to remote.  If you're trying to remote the entire experience of your rackmount over to your laptop screen, it's probably not going to work very well.  If you want to give it a try, you would probably want to try some version of VNC (UltraVNCbefore Windows Remote Desktop.  Keep in mind that sounds coming from the audio software on the rack mount will not be transferred to the laptop and there might be some pauses or skips in the audio from network activity on the rack mount.  All sounds coming from the rack mount will play through the audio interface on the rack mount.

If you're just trying to remote transport controls, look at the Frontier Design Tranzport.