Add configuration options for serialization

**Feature request**
It would be great to have backup for api.

**Use case**
Many users need this functionality for production deployments.

**Implementation idea**
Add a new config option `enable_backup` with default `false`.

Start by locating the API configuration and serialization entry points, then determine how backup behavior should work for production deployments. Confirm the expected effect of the new enable_backup option, including its default value of false, and define tests that verify the option before considering the work done.

Written by the indexing model from the issue text.