I'm a bit confused about what version of kubernetes I need and what method to use to deploy it.
I have deployed 1.5 the manual way. But there is a fix we need (PR-41597). This fix doesn't seem to have been merge in 1.5 but it is in 1.6.
But I can't find any way to install 1.6 without kubeadm. The documentation clearly states that kubeadm should not be used in production. And the kubeadm way does not allow for upgrades anyway. So I would prefer to stay away from kubeadm.
So I either have to get that fix merged in 1.5 or find a way to install 1.6 without kubeadm. Am I missing something here? Any help would be much appreciated. Thanks.
There are plenty of ways to install Kubernetes 1.6:
https://kubernetes.io/docs/getting-started-guides
For example, CoreOS's CloudFormation installer supports 1.6: https://coreos.com/kubernetes/docs/latest/kubernetes-on-aws.html#announcement-to-regular-users-of-kube-aws
As does Canonical's Juju templates: https://jujucharms.com/canonical-kubernetes/
If you need more specific assistance, please share more about your target environment (cloud/bare metal, OS, etc.).
A fairly low-level set of instructions can be found in https://github.com/kelseyhightower/kubernetes-the-hard-way; this may help you to tailor your own setup process.
For CentOS specifically, your best bet might be Kargo. This doesn't yet support 1.6, but it is active, so it should receive a 1.6 patch soon.